Harry Potter: The Year After
by Aubyn Lin
Summary: *HP/CC* & *RW/HG*: Cho hungers for revenge for a lost love... so she asks the only person she thinks can understand and help...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
  
Harry Potter walked into the Leaky Cauldron that day with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, his two very best friends, at his sides and the rest of Ron's family ahead of them, walking fast paced, or at least faster than the three. They were walking silently, not noticing their surroundings much. Harry was in a trance, staring past the rest of the Weasley's flaming red hair.  
  
Ever since the end of last year, Harry refused to speak to anybody. He went over to Ron's house, as if it were an annual routine. But this time was different. He hadn't spoken a word since he got to the Burrow. Sure, it was slightly immature of him to do so, but he really didn't know what to say. Ever since the end of last year, he couldn't think of anything else.  
  
Cedric Diggory and Harry both grasped the Triwizard Tournament Cup in the middle of the maze and were jerked to the graveyard hundreds of miles away. Cedric and Harry looked around, hoping for a sign of someone. Somebody comes, but it's Wormtail. he kills Cedric. on the spot.  
  
Harry sighed another painful sigh. He knew Ron and Hermione both stole glances at him- they always did. Whenever Harry sighed like that, they would look, see if he was all right. They would ask, and he would nod, but they didn't know the truth behind it all. They weren't there. All they knew was that Cedric was murdered and Harry was there to see it.  
  
Mrs. Weasley looked back when Harry sighed - even Fred and George seemed to feel sorry for him. He thought how unlucky he was, how terrible he felt about Cedric, how Cedric's parents must have felt learning that their only son was dead, murdered by one of Lord Voldemort's Death Eaters.  
  
Then his mind drifted to Cho. Cho Chang was Cedric's girlfriend at the time he was murdered. He knew it must be hard to take a walk in her shoes, and he knew that she was feeling the same way he was on this whole Cedric episode.  
  
Nobody knew that Harry lay awake every night, not a wink tired, thinking about the memory of Cedric. He wished it would all just go away, for good, so he wouldn't have to think of those things. He was so pessimistic, and so sad, that nobody knew any words to say to him. He just sat there, and they let him get engrossed by this sorrow, this pain that surrounded him. He was alone, and nobody could reach him.  
  
Somebody tapped him on the shoulder. He stopped and turned, but the Weasleys and Hermione kept walking. He would catch up with them later.  
  
When he turned, he was surprised to see the girl he had just been thinking about- Cho Chang. She looked so much worse than Harry did. Her eyes were straining to hold back waterfalls of painful tears. She stared at the floor with those eyes, but Harry could see them. Her face was glum, and her posture was lost. She shuffled her feet.  
  
Suddenly, she looked up at Harry and stared him in the eyes- only for a second. He stared right back at her. She moved her hand from behind her back and pulled out an envelope from her bag. She looked at it for a moment, but then thrust it into Harry's arms wordlessly. She ran away, and Harry could tell she was crying.  
  
Harry looked at the envelope. They had communicated thoroughly, though nobody would have known it. Cho's eyes said it all.  
  
He sighed again, and then put the envelope into his bag. He would read it later. Harry turned and started to catch up with the Weasleys, after looking back at the place where Cho had stood. That was the first time Harry ever saw him.  
  
* *  
  
Harry lay wide-awake that night. He couldn't get that mental image of what he saw at the Leaky Cauldron out of his mind. At first he thought he was imagining things - but then, he couldn't be going mad, could he? He wasn't about to go lose his mind over this. No, he thought, I won't. I must have imagined it.  
  
And he settled for that. He must have imagined it. He couldn't have seen that - could he? It was possible. No, he thought firmly. I just imagined it.  
  
Then, as he turned onto his back, he thought, Or, at least, I hope so. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer—What, do you THINK I own Harry Potter? If you do… haha… you moron… lol 

A/N: I would appreciate some reviews… PLS!! This is my first ff on here (and I know it's kinda stupid but…) well please R/R! Oh, and would somebody care to tell me how to make italics??? Please??? Is it like ithisi ?? 

Thanks goes out to Herculeha for being my one and only reviewer so far!! OK I lied also Whitney Lin, my partner in crime. (Read our Inu fic!!) And, I will eventually tell what Harry saw. I promise you, it's good. Really!

*** 

Chapter 2 

Ron watched Harry as he slept. He knew that Harry would eventually wake up, because it always happened. Some sort of human sensory thing he learned from somewhere, in some book. Wow, Ron and a book. Never thought that'd happen. 

He turned over to look at his watch, which was lying on his bedside table. It read eleven thirty-seven. He sighed and flipped back over to check on Harry. He was lying silently under his covers, his breathing steady. 

'He'll be fine.' Ron thought as he shut his eyes and drifted into a dreamless sleep. 

Harry turned over to make sure Ron was asleep ten minutes later. He sighed relief as he heard Ron's heavy snores from the vibrantly orange bed next to him. Harry sat up silently (as not to wake Ron) and grabbed his glasses. He got out of his bed and as he neared the door, he paused to stand. He looked at Ron again and attempted to smile, thankful that Ron was so caring for him. 

He walked out and down the stairways. He knew that Mr. Weasley was up at this hour on Saturday nights, as he didn't have to work the next morning. Harry skipped the squeaky stair on the last stairwell and jumped the rest of the way down, which was only about four steps. He landed very cat-like on the floor and stood up, thinking that all of those Quidditch lessons and games had paid off and given him abilities he knew he would never have been able to do before. 

Harry walked to the kitchen door and peered inside. Mr. Weasley was sitting in a chair in there, sipping what was either coffee or hot cocoa Harry did not know. He was reading yesterday's copy of the Daily Prophet. Harry thought for a second if Mr. Weasley was the right person to tell this to. He shook his head at his own stupid brain and took one step in. 

"Umm, Mr. Weasley? I, um, have to talk to you." He said. 

"Oh, come right in. Sit down, sit down. Now, what is it you need?" Mr. Weasley asked, taking another sip of his warm drink as Harry took the seat next to him. 

"Well, today at the Leaky Cauldron…" Harry paused again, thinking if this was the right thing to do. 

"Yes, yes, go on now." Mr. Weasley ushered him. 

Harry shook his head at his own mind again and started over. "Today at the Leaky Cauldron, Cho Chang came up to me and gave me an envelope. This one." He set the envelope on the table for Mr. Weasley to see. 

"Ahh, very interesting. Go on," he ushered again. 

"Well, she ran away, crying. I haven't opened it yet, but, well… I was sort of hoping that you or, or somebody else would do it for me. I want to know what it says, but I sort of don't… Please?" 

"Of course, Harry." Mr. Weasley picked up the envelope and tore the seam. He took the letter out of it and read it over first. He stated, "It doesn't really say much at all. Here- 

iHarry, 

There is really only one purpose for this letter and I guess that I probably shouldn't say it in this one, as you may have somebody reading it for you." (At this point, Mr. Weasley gave Harry a slight chuckle.) "But I can say this: You must meet me in the last compartment on the right side of the train on September the first. I really have to talk to you. Oh, and you can bring Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. I'm sure they would find out soon anyway. 

Sincerely, 

Cho Chang " i

Harry stopped to think. Should he tell Mr. Weasley about what else happened in the Leaky Cauldron? 'No,' he thought. 'I should tell Ron and 'Mione first…' 

"Is that all Harry?" Mr. Weasley asked. 

Harry paused. "Yes. Yes it is. Thank you." 

"Alright then. Let's get up to bed." Mr. Weasley said, ushering him up one set of stairs where they went their separate ways. 

Harry walked silent as a breeze into Ron's orange bedroom, thankfully not awakening him. He slid back into bed and laid his glasses atop the envelope on the bedside table. He lay his head down to sleep and finally, after at least a half an hour of tossing and turning and thinking about what Cho wanted from him, he fell into a peaceful sleep. 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N- Reviewers- thanks a lot for reviewing my fanfic! Totally appreciated, that it is! ( Did anybody get HP OotP? (stupid question!!) I read over 300 pages in a night and half a day. lol I'm a freak! Anyway. I FINISHED THE BOOK! Sorry if this is a spoiler, but I have to put it in:  
  
~ALWAYS REMEMBER~  
  
Sirius Black  
  
never forgotten, killed by his own blood.  
  
Disclaimer- what, you think I own Harry Potter?!. haha. you moron! lol. Anyway, if I DID own HP, I WOULDN'T LET SIRIUS DIE!!! ;__; T__T  
  
center ~***~ center  
  
bChapter 3b  
  
Harry woke up the next morning very surprisingly early. He wanted to write a letter back to Cho before he went to bed last night, but he was very tired so he never got around to doing that after he put on his pajamas and flopped onto his bed.  
  
Harry walked over to Ron's desk near the window and sat down in the old, maple chair that didn't match the rich, but battered, ebony desk. The desk was covered in ink spills, but you had to look ever so closely to actually see them. Harry searched among the mess of old homework assignments and letters that had not been thrown away yet for a clean piece of parchment.  
  
"Finally," he said, grabbing a piece of paper and double-checking either side to make sure it hadn't been used before. Thankfully, it wasn't.  
  
Harry looked for a quill and found one of his own mixed up in a bushel of papers and he found some old emerald ink that belonged to (Harry read the name taped onto the side) Percy, apparently, according to the label. He shrugged and opened it. It looked fine.  
  
He dipped his quill in, wiped it off a bit on the sides, and thought. What to write?  
  
He hadn't really thought of that before. What would he write? He wanted to sound impressive for Cho, but not too impressive to make it seem like he's actually trying. He didn't know where that statistic came from, (probably from Sirius) but he was near positive it would work like a charm.  
  
i Dear Cho,  
  
Sure, I will meet you in the compartment. If it's about what I think it's about, Ron and Hermione have already heard, so I guess they needn't come along. I guess I will see you then, so good-bye!  
  
Best wishes,  
  
Harry i  
  
"It's not perfect," Harry muttered to himself, "but it will have to do." He ushered Hedwig, his beautiful pure white owl, over to him so he could tie the letter around her ankle. "Take this to Cho Chang, Hedwig. When you come back I'll have a treat for you."  
  
Hedwig gave a soft hoot and Harry smiled as he watched her fly away into the early morning sun.  
  
Somebody walked in the door a few moments later. The door creaked open and Harry quickly turned around.  
  
"Oh, Hermione," Harry said, relieved. "It's just you."  
  
"Good morning, Harry." She said, shocked. She didn't know Harry would be up this early in the morning, so she asked.  
  
"I was, um, writing a letter." Harry replied. "What are you doing in here?" he asked suspiciously.  
  
"I- er- well." Hermione said, her face tinging darker and darker.  
  
"It's okay. Something tells me I don't want to know." He chuckled at Hermione, whose face had gone, finally, a dark pink.  
  
At that point, Ron woke up and looked at the scene before him. After a while, he said, "Hello, Hermione." very groggily, not paying attention.  
  
"Anyway." Harry said. "What have you got there, Hermione?"  
  
"Oh!" Hermione said, almost forgetting the letter at her side. "It's from somebody. It's addressed to you, and it somehow got to me, so I thought I'd give it to its rightful owner. Here." She handed it over to him.  
  
"Thanks," he said, taking it and looking over the front. No return address.  
  
He opened it and took the letter from inside, glancing at the names at the bottom. "It's from Snuffles and Remus!" he said. He looked back up at the top. It said, 'DO NOT READ THIS ALOUD!'  
  
"I'm not allowed to read it out loud, though. You can both read this though, when I'm done."  
  
DO NOT READ THIS ALOUD!  
  
Harry,  
  
Okay we can't really tell you too much in here, as our owls could possibly be tracked. So this is what we have to say.  
  
There's a lot going on over here. And over here is not at Moony's place, but at a place I don't really like to call my own, even though, logically, it really is. Unfortunately. I can't tell you on here, but when I- we (Moony is so specific! Bloody git.) see you next, we'll explain everything Dumbledore will allow us to do so. As you know, of course, ickle V is back. (Ickle V. If you don't get it. well never mind. And of course, he's stronger than ever. Chill your beans (I heard that on a Muggle television show. It was quite funny) and make sure you avoid anybody whose parents are or know D.E. because they may become them also. Don't worry about it, though. Stay on the lookout, but keep your nose clean and stay out of trouble- it will do us all some good.  
  
Okay, Moony wants to tell you something.  
  
Harry, I do hope you're doing well. As it's now your fifth year at Hogwarts, or will be, I think it's about time we explain everything to you. Don't worry, Dumbledore will fill in everything we don't. But as Padfoot said, stay out of trouble. in fact, don't stay in too many things. This year will be a great mess, trust me, and you will have to endure some things that nobody should, but I'm asking you to stay calm and not get into anything serious this year. As I said, a lot of things will be happening and I don't want you in the middle of it.  
  
That would be all for me.  
  
Glad that's over with. Hah, as you can most blantly tell by my beautifully crisp and clean handwriting compared to Moony's scratchy one (very funny, Padfoot- Moony), it's me, the one and only Padfoot! Anyway, I hope those Muggles, or whomever you're staying with, are treating you right. If not, they'll have to answer to me, and I will have to rip their  
  
Perhaps I should take the quill and finish this letter. Stay out of trouble. Got it? Oh, and one more thing. I know you're used to calling me Professor Lupin, but (of course) as I am not your professor anymore, you can call me Moony. Or Remus. Whichever will suit you better  
  
internal organs and slash their  
  
PADFOOT! I apologize for him. Great, now he's gotten himself ranting on. I guess that's all for now. I have to go cure Padfoot. My best to Ron and Hermione. Padfoot says so also. And as we said at the top-Don't read this aloud! Also, destroy it once you're done.  
  
Padfoot & Moony  
  
Harry passed it to Ron, and Hermione read over his shoulder. " It all sounds quite logical to me. Wonder what's going on, though?"  
  
Harry shrugged and thought about it. Ron and Hermione did the same, until Harry said, "I need some shut-eye, so."  
  
"Oh, we'll leave." Ron and Hermione said in unison. "We'll come back 'round noon, or whenever." They walked out of the room and Ron shut the door quietly behind him.  
  
Harry turned around and looked back out the window for a second. Then, deciding that he really did need to catch up on his sleep, he turned to go to bed. As he stood and took a step, an icy yet familiar feeling, as if a ghost passed through him, swept over his body. He took another two steps and turned around, looking for the source.  
  
Sitting on the chair where he had been just moments before, he saw him again. The image of what he had seen in Diagon Alley, or what he thought he had just imagined.  
  
"Hello." It said. It was a ghost, apparently, and it was a he. Dark locks covered the top of his ghostly pale face. He was wearing clothes that seemed a thousand years aged- a sort of ruffle around his collar and a dark panted suit. Harry didn't see any other way to explain it. But the ghost wore glasses, more square-shaped than Harry's own round ones, but they were black. His hair was most like Harry's, as it stood up in many directions.  
  
"H-hello," Harry replied, staring at him as if he were a mirror. "Who are you?"  
  
(A/N: I will not be using the old English language, as I am not accustomed to it. I'll use English as stated today for this ghost. K?)  
  
"You do not recognize me, Harry Potter? You are in my house, you have used my sword in hardship and battle, and yet you still do not recognize me?"  
  
Harry couldn't find the right words. He stuttered, finally, as he said, eyes wide, "Godric G-G-Gryffindor?"  
  
center ~***~ center  
  
Well, what did you think? If you enjoyed it, please notice that itty-bitty button down there that says "Go!" . well after you select "Submit Review" you press that, and then you tell me what you think. ( I'm sorry, there won't be much HP/CC YET, but I assure you, there will be! It may even get fluffy, lol, even though I'm no good with that kinda stuff (I don't think.IDK only tried once. Whitney Lin said it was good).  
  
Please Review! I'll try to post this ASAP! (if it will work.. Whitney Lin, my sister, posted the last one for me. It wouldn't work one bit beforehand. ::grr:: Umm. thnx for reading! 


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hey everybody! Once again. I never would have thought that I would get reviews!! Woo!!! lol, I've gotten a total of 4 reviews! ::throws party for reviewers:: hehe thanks so much! ALSO! Does anyone know how to make things bold and italics and centered and what not? It just won't work, as you can probably tell from the past two chapters. I'll try to spread things out more, like for letters and what not, ok? Ok! Thanks to reviewers, again! You all get ice cream! lol S@bre _Bl@ck gives out cookies so I should give out ice cream! jk! Enjoy the next chapter!! And this one won't be as long as the last one. JSYK.  
  
Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter and/or any such related characters. duh. Joanne Kathleen Rowling does, and if you honestly think that I own it, you MUST be barking mad! Plus, how would a 13 year old in the States own a super-stable bestseller written in England? You moron. I don't own ANYTHING! Get it?! lol enjoy your read!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 4  
  
"That is right." The ghost said bluntly, peering at Harry through those glasses. His eyes were almost navy blue, but lighter than that, Harry guessed because his ghostly pale skin didn't accustom with the orange background, so Harry couldn't really tell.  
  
"I-well-I." Harry said. Finally, he said, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"An excellent question, Harry. I've come to warn you. Many things will be happening, and it all has something to do with you."  
  
Harry didn't know what to say to this, so Godric continued. "Back when Hogwarts was newly built, as you know, we all harmonized and lived in peace with one another, and that's how things were before the Dark Lord, or more commonly known as, by you, Lord Voldemort, had returned."  
  
Harry looked slightly shocked. He'd never heard anybody but Professor Dumbledore say Voldemort's name before. Godric continued.  
  
"You know that Salazar, being the great git he truly was," (Harry snorted) "left Hogwarts and built his own chamber from the girl's second-floor bathroom, I believe, where he and his 'pureblood' students went to learn. Before he died, he sealed it away so that none other than his own true heir could unlock the secrets within.  
  
"As you most likely already know, Tom Riddle, or Voldemort, entered Hogwarts fifty years ago, and he found he was heir of Slytherin. But you opened that chamber in your second year. Do you know why that is?"  
  
At this point, Harry nodded and said, "Because Voldemort transported some of his powers to me the night he killed my parents."  
  
"Correct. But he wouldn't give up, would he? First and second year of yours at Hogwarts were rough ones, and he would not stop at anything to get his power returned to him. Thus, Voldemort tried to return to his utmost power, succeeding last year, of course. But always, yet, you thwarted him, you stopped him from doing anything. Do you know why that is?"  
  
Harry shook his head slowly. What was he talking about?  
  
"Harry, you are the only one who can defeat Voldemort because you have something in you. There is power beyond Voldemort's wildest dreams, or even Salazar's. But neither know of it, or knew, in matter of terms."  
  
"I don't under-."  
  
"Not only, Harry," Godric interrupted him, "do you have your parents', Lily and James's, inevitable powers, you are also my reincarnation."  
  
A long pause followed those words, and Harry stared blankly at the ghost.  
  
"But-how? Why-."  
  
Harry was interrupted. "I must go now, Harry. I will appear to you whenever I feel I need to tell you something. Somebody's coming, so I must leave."  
  
"No! I have so many questions!"  
  
But before Harry could stop him, Godric was gone with a whisp of smoke. The door opened very slowly, and Harry jumped into bed, pretending to be asleep.  
  
Mrs. Weasley looked at Harry smiling. "Poor dear, he seems to have fallen asleep with his glasses on." she reached down and pulled his glasses off. She also put a blanket over Harry and kissed him on the forehead, very motherly. Harry inwardly smiled- he had never known his own mother, and to have somebody like Mrs. Weasley was a great thing.  
  
She walked out of the room and shut the door behind her, slowly, but it creaked a little. Harry jolted up once he heard the final click of the door shutting and looked around.  
  
"Godric?" he whispered, squinting into the dark corners. "Are you there?"  
  
No answer.  
  
Harry sighed heavily and flumped back down onto the pillow, thinking for sure that this would not be a bad time to take a long-awaited nap.  
  
~**~  
  
Hey! Press review! Pls! Ok I hope you enjoyed that little bit. I can't get italics, bolding, or centering so just deal with me here ok? Thanks to all who have reviewed so far, and again, I'm sorry it's so short.  
  
~**~ Always Remember ~**~ 


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hey everybody! Yet again, I'm back! Thanks for all these wondrous reviews (a whopping 9 of 'em) Please review to this chappie!! PLEASE!!! I beg of you! lol Thanks to my reviewers, again. ::gives reviewers ice cream:: I hope none of you are lactose-intollerant.  
  
Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter and/or any such related characters and/or plots. I do own this plot though. ( hehe  
  
XXdOmOnXx- such a fanfiction? What do you mean? ::lost::  
  
Bon- thanks, and I will do that, lol  
  
Jarvey- here's more! Thanks bunches for the review!  
  
MY DORKIST SISTER WHITNEY: howdy!! I finally figured it out!! (how to post other chappies) lol oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  
  
::MY FIRST REVIEWER::  
  
Herculeha- hehe thanks for reviewing, and I hope you read what-or who- Harry saw! ( And I totally agree- HP/CC forever!!! Oh yeah, and I'm sorry about the short chappies. my bad, lol this one will definitely be longer. And thanks for the (how many?) 3-4 reviews, lol  
  
~*************************************************************************** *~  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Harry slept the day away, until finally Ron, Fred, and George came in so they could play a game of Quidditch at 2:00 in the afternoon. Harry jumped at the idea and got dressed. He grabbed his broom and off they went, Fred carrying the Weasley's beat up Quiditch set.  
  
They started the game with Fred and George as Keeper/chaser and Seeker/chaser. Ron played Keeper and chaser while Harry just assumed his normal position as Seeker. The game began, and without even two minutes on the clock, Harry had already spotted and caught the Snitch.  
  
"Wow, Harry, brilliant!" Ron said, clapping him on the back.  
  
Harry just sat there, dissatisfied by the little golden Snitch in his hand.  
  
"That was too easy!" George complained. "He's a genius at Seeking! Let's do something else."  
  
Fred laughed as he watched his twin ride down to the ground and get off his broom. "Well," he said to the other two. "Best go see him off." Rolling his eyes and giving a wink, he rode down to George and they walked off, brooms over their shoulders.  
  
"Now what?" Ron asked, watching them walk away.  
  
Harry shrugged. Maybe now was a good time to tell Ron about Godric. "You wanted to try out for Keeper next year, right?" He asked him, zooming down and grabbing the Quaffle that lay abandoned on the ground below. Ron smiled and went into position before the goal hoops.  
  
Harry shot once, and Ron didn't save it. He looked glum as he zoomed down to get the Quaffle and throw it back to Harry.  
  
"You know," Harry said whilst chucking the Quaffle into the hoop farthest to the left, but Ron caught that one. "While I was 'sleeping,' something happened."  
  
Ron stopped throwing the Quaffle half way. "What happened?" he asked, concerned.  
  
"Well." Harry hesitated, looking away from Ron's eyes. "A ghost came to me." He stated simply.  
  
"A ghost?" Ron questioned.  
  
"Not just any ghost though, Ron." Harry replied, throwing the Quaffle at him, which he cought. "It was Godric Gryffindor."  
  
Ron dropped the Quaffle and stared at him. "You must've been dreaming or-or something, Harry." He replied, trying to sound very non-chalant, but the worried crack in his voice gave him away.  
  
"I never went to sleep, Ron, not until after your mum came in." Ron paled slightly at that, but said nothing. Harry continued, "He said that I was the only one who could defeat Voldemort," Ron flinched, "and that I had incredible powers. Or inevitable, which ever he said. Anyway, the part that really got to me, though, was what he said after the fact that I have my parents' and great powers of my own."  
  
"What'd he say?" Ron asked anxiously.  
  
Harry hesitated but told the truth. "He- he said I'm his reincarnation."  
  
Ron looked absolutely shocked. "Does that mean you two look alike?"  
  
"Nearly exactly. Looks just like my father, he does." Harry added, once he thought about it.  
  
"Bloody hell. we have to tell Hermione! She'll make more sense out of it than I could," Ron shouted, zooming between trees with Harry zooming along next to him.  
  
They landed just before they got to the Muggle road and walked across it to where the Burrow stood, nine stories tall at least, lopsided and tipsy. They ran inside and up the stairs, past a very disgruntled Molly Weasley, who shouted at Ron as he passed. They ignored her, however, and ran all the way up to Ginny's room, where Hermione was staying.  
  
Ron was about to bust open the door when Harry thought twice and held him back. He knocked on the door, and Hermione's voice came from inside. "Come on in, you two," she said.  
  
Harry opened the door and saw Hermione laying on her bed, back to them, reading a book. "How'd you know it was us?"  
  
Hermione laughed and said, "I know you too well." With that, she said, "What's going on?"  
  
"Well, we were playing Quidditch and Harry started talking about this morning and-" Ron started, very fast.  
  
"Ron," Hermione interrupted. "Slow down."  
  
"Okay," Ron took a breath and sat down on Ginny's bed, while Harry pulled a chair up by Hermione. "We were practicing Quidditch outside, and Harry told me something that happened while he was 'sleeping'." Ron started.  
  
"And what is that? What happened, Harry?" Hermione asked sharply.  
  
"A ghost came to me." Harry replied simply, the same way he had to Ron.  
  
"A ghost? What kind of ghost? Do you know who it was?" Hermione asked.  
  
Harry hesitated and glanced at Ron, who nudged him on. "Well," he said. "It was a ghost that could obviously appear and disappear at will, because that's what he said-"  
  
"Who's he already, Harry?" Hermione asked impatiently.  
  
Harry shot her a little look and said, "Godric Gryffindor."  
  
Hermione's jaw dropped. But she came back to her senses and said questioningly, "But- but you were asleep, weren't you? Are you sure it wasn't just a dream?"  
  
"That's exactly what Ron said. I didn't go to sleep until after Mrs. Weasley came in."  
  
"What were you doing beforehand, then?"  
  
"I was talking to Godric. He appeared just after you two left."  
  
"What were you talking about?" Hermione asked. God, she had a lot of questions.  
  
Harry told her exactly what she had told Ron out on the Quidditch Pitch owned by the Weasleys, and once he said the reincarnation bit, her jaw dropped to the floor and her eyes went wide.  
  
"Harry, do you know what this means?" she asked. Harry shook his head. "This is amazing, Harry! When somebody gets reincarnated, all of their powers get stabilized into the reincarnate. You have all of Godric Gryffindor's powers, your parents' powers, and your own. Voldemort has his and Salazar Slytherin's. This means, Harry, that you can defeat him, and you will. My goodness," Hermione ran her hand through her hair, making it fluff up even more. "We have to tell Dumbledore! He'll know exactly what to do about this. But, how are you to defeat him? I'm sure Dumbledore wouldn't just let you off on your own until you find him, would he? What if he did, and what if you couldn't defeat him? No, that's just nonsense, of course you could, you have so many powers." Hermione said more to herself than anybody else.  
  
Harry scratched his ear in thought. (A/N: I tend to do that, also.) This was all so sudden and confusing that Harry seemed to lose himself in his thoughts. He never noticed that he had gotten up and walked out of the room, eventually reaching the outdoors. He walked around to the garden and sat on a bench that had been placed in the middle of four trees, with bushes growing on all sides, each at least covered with 20 purple roses and 7 feet high.  
  
'All of Godric's powers,' he thought to himself. 'How is that possible? Why me? Why do I have to defeat Voldemort, and why not anybody else?'  
  
"That is because," a voice said from behind him (A/N: WARNING: SPOILER!), "You are a marked man. Voldemort chose you, and not the other boy to defeat him."  
  
Harry spun around to see Godric sitting on the other side of the double-sided bench (with two benches, duh! lol) very contently, talking to the midair.  
  
'Can you read my thoughts?' he thought to himself.  
  
"Yes, Harry, I can. You're my reincarnate, and that's just how things work.." Godric turned and smiled at him, looking exactly like James did (with, of course, a different outfit) on his and Lily's wedding. Harry thought.  
  
"What do you mean, I'm a marked man? And who else could have been chosen?"  
  
"Let me explain, Harry." Godric said. He sighed and started off, "Many years ago, a prophecy was made. "The Dark Lord was to be defeated by a young boy, born at the end of July. The problem was, there were two boys born that year at the end of July. Same age as you, he is."  
  
Harry asked, "Who is it?"  
  
"A boy in Gryffindor house, in your year. Neville Longbottom, was the other." Godric let that sink in.  
  
'Neville?' Harry asked himself. He said aloud, "Then why was I chosen, and not Neville?"  
  
(A/N: I know everything here is NOT specific as to the book, but I haven't memorized it YET, so I'm sorry if it doesn't fit exactly.)  
  
"Voldemort didn't know of the other boy born at the end of July. He came to the house of Lily and James, and killed them, as you know. As he tried to kill you and it backfired, you got marked with the scar. That is the scar that would make whomever he chose the one to defeat him once and for all."  
  
Godric faded away, to leave Harry thinking.  
  
Sooner than never, Harry went back up to the Burrow. It was sunset, and he heard Mrs. Weasley calling for them all to come down so they could eat dinner. Harry sighed and said, "A day gone unwasted," for he had learned many things that he never would have before.  
  
~***~  
  
Harry sat down between Ron and George outside at the table, taking in the aroma of Mrs. Weasley's delicious cooking. He smiled and tried to clear his mind of all thoughts, or at least store them in the back until later.  
  
Harry looked around and listened to the conversations. Fred and George, next to him at the end of the table, were deep in secret conversation. Harry caught bits of it-  
  
"No, no that won't work. Something huge, George-"  
  
"Well what about-" George lowered his voice to a point where Harry couldn't hear.  
  
"That's brilliant!" Fred said to his twin, and they went back to brainstorming.  
  
Ron was watching Hermione eat across the table, and Hermione was trying hard not to blush and she tried not to make eye contact. Harry laughed inside, and turned his head to see Ginny looking at him a couple times here and there, but also talking in whispers to Hermione. Mrs. Weasley was ranting on to Bill, who had arrived earlier with Charlie, about the usual- Bill's hair. It was getting much longer, almost down to the middle of his back.  
  
"Bill, dear, just a trim wouldn't hurt-"  
  
"No, mum, I like it like this." Bill said firmly.  
  
Mr. Weasley was chatting to Charlie, and Harry noticed Percy was eating without anybody to talk to. Harry managed a half-smile at him as they matched eyes and went back to his meal.  
  
Dinner ended with a delicious treacle pudding that Mrs. Weasley had spent most of the day making. Harry enjoyed it very thoroughly, as Mrs. Weasley was an excellent cook. Fred and George even set off firecrackers they had left from last year, and after one final cup of hot cocoa, they all trudged up to bed, all very tired. Tomorrow, they would be returning back to Hogwarts, and - Harry remembered - that he was to meet Cho on the train.  
  
Harry lay his head down on his pillow in Ron's room and, for one of the few times in that summer, fell into a peaceful, dream-less sleep, thinking that this fifth year would be better, hopefully, than last.  
  
~********************************************************************** ******************~  
  
A/N: I know, not a very eventful chapter. But it gets better! Thanks, again, to those who had reviewed so far, and I do hope more of you will enjoy this ff and review (hey, no flames, PLS) so I can feel loved! lol. There will be HP/CC when I get to the part of Dumbledore's Army. If you've read the book you know what I mean. Harry and Cho will stay together, though, and Harry won't be so thickheaded. Hehe well I best go post this now. bye bye! 


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Howdy, again! Thanks for the reviews! This chapter will be more eventful. They're going on the train to Hogwarts! I'm so happy I've made this fic last so long! ::grins:: I owe it all to my reviewers, lol. Also, there will be RW/HG in here, stringed along with HP/CC!!! ( Ok, shout outs, lol:  
  
Not until the continuation of A/N: VERY IMPORTANT! I put Dumbledore's Army in this ff! I know this story takes place in the fifth book, but well. Dumbledore's Army, AKA the DA will be a huge help. anyway, SHOUT OUTS NOW!!! WOO!  
  
Herculeha (sp) - You were my only reviewer for Chapter 5!!! Woo!!! ::gives extra ice cream:: I was intending to make Cho moody and a "human faucet," though, daresay. ( But Harry won't be stupid. Don't worry. It won't be like the book. (Much. I'm going to try to follow the plot a bit, except Harry won't be stupid, lol. Typical teenage boy. :: rolls eyes:: anyway.)  
  
Ok I lied, you're not the only reviewer, Herculeha.  
  
Bon- yeah I know not all guys are nitwits. Well, most are. well. ok almost all. OK! I'm done. I'll just leave ya with this- All men are men. Some are just stupider. lol jk. Harry won't be thickheaded. Trust me!  
  
Sister Sara- thanks for the review! :-D I feel so loved.  
  
Dorkist, I mean, Courtney- Thanks for reading this ff! I feel so loved. lol TTYL  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and/or any such related characters. I do own this ficcy though!! ::grins::  
  
On with the show!  
  
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Chapter 6  
  
Harry was shaken awake earlier than most usual the next morning by Mrs. Weasley at precisely 7:00 in the A.M. (A/N: I love saying that. "In the AM," lol) Harry decided that, as they were packing up their things, it would be a good time to tell Ron and Hermione about what happened in the Leaky Cauldron, with Cho Chang. Well, not so much Hermione as Ron, because Harry and Ron shared the same room and would be able to talk more about it.  
  
"Hey, Ron," Harry said, throwing down his pair of old dress robes that were a bit short for him now at the arms.  
  
"Yeah, Harry?" Ron replied, setting his own new dress robes from Fred and George (who had somehow gotten a ton of money out of nowhere) into his trunk.  
  
"Well something else happened, but it was at the Leaky Cauldron."  
  
"Go on."  
  
"Well, Cho Chang came up to me and-"  
  
"OO la la, Harry," Ron said, winking and nudging him. Harry blushed and tried to ignore that statement.  
  
"And," he stated louder, "she gave me an envelope. And she wanted to meet me in the last compartment of the Hogwarts Express. I don't know what she wants, and I'm really nervous. What do I do?" he asked, almost desperately.  
  
"You go to her," Fred said from at the door.  
  
Ron and Harry looked up, and George continued. "Yeah, she's a beaut. I'd go anyday," he added. Fred elbowed him in the stomach.  
  
"You have a girlfriend, half-wit." He said.  
  
"I may be a half-wit but at least I got my other half right here!" George said, putting an arm around his twin. Fred nudged him off, smiling sarcastically.  
  
"They're right, you know," Ron said.  
  
"Excuse me?" Hermione said from behind those two.  
  
"Ouch, Ron, busted," Fred said, laughing evilly with George and walking off.  
  
Ron reddened at the ears and looked away. Hermione, seeming to forget that Harry was there, walked over to Ron and kissed him on the lips. "It's ok, I forgive you." she said.  
  
"Hello, when did this happen?" Harry asked, laying the sarcasm on pretty thick.  
  
Hermione and Ron both blushed until they seemed pure red. Harry laughed before Ron answered, "I- ah, um. before you got here."  
  
"And what happened to Krum?" Harry asked Hermione.  
  
"I caught him cheating on me with his family maid. That cheap, dirty little- "  
  
"Okay, Hermione, no need to go that far." Harry laughed nervously. "Well, you two enjoy yourselves," he said as he dragged his trunk down the stairs, leaving Ron and Hermione alone.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
They arrived at Platform 9 ¾ at 10:45, with fifteen minutes to spare. (Ron and Hermione had come downstairs late.) Harry, Ron, and Hermione went through the invisible barrier of Platfrom 9 ¾ first, followed by Fred and George, Ginny, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and finally Bill, Charlie, and Percy.  
  
"Have a good year," Mrs. Weasley said to all going to Hogwarts. (Which was as follows: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George.)  
  
Harry climbed board the Hogwarts Express and waved goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, and Percy, who all waved back. Soon, those five became nothing more than little specks far behind them as the Hogwarts Express roared to a start.  
  
Ron and Hermione went to get a compartment with Ginny, and Harry remembered that he was supposed to go to the last compartment on the right. He made his way down the hall and finally reached it. He hesitated right as he was about to knock.  
  
Eventually, Harry did knock on the door, and a voice came from inside. It was a teary, thick voice that replied to his knock, and it said, "Come in, Harry."  
  
Harry opened the door, shocked to see that Cho knew it was him. Ignoring the fact, he sat down hesitantly after shutting the door behind him.  
  
"H-hi," he said. He decided to jump right to it. "What did you want?"  
  
Cho looked up at him, tears in her eyes. (A/N: Sorry Herculeha, I have to make her a human faucet. the one she loved just died. what would YOU do??) She stood up and made sure the door was shut tight. Then she sat back down and looked into his eyes.  
  
They sat in an awkward silence for a short while, until Cho whispered, "I need your help."  
  
Harry was stunned. "With what?"  
  
"Not so loud, not so loud," she whispered. She continued, "I want revenge."  
  
Harry gulped slightly, and shook his head to make sure that's what he really heard. "Revenge?"  
  
"Yeah, revenge. You-Know-Who killed him, he killed my Cedric. I want to avenge his death, by ridding the world of You-Know-Who forever," she said. "I don't know what else I can do. I can't just live like this, Harry. I have to do something, something important. Let's get the DA together again, teach them to fight against You-Know-Who. you can teach us again, Harry. Please."  
  
Harry thought this through for a minute. It was a good idea, but extremely risky. They could take out lives of their peers just by one wrong move. Harry leaned forward and started to speak.  
  
"Cho, there is a prophecy. It's a prophecy of me and Voldemort." Cho flinched. "But before we get to that, you can't be afraid of that name. A fear of a name only increases the fear of a thing itself. Okay?" Cho nodded. "Okay, back to the prophecy. It states that one born at the end of July was to defeat Voldemort once and for all. Now that is either me, or Neville Longbottom. Voldemort chose me, and marked me. Now my life must include, or end in, murder. But still," Harry said, noticing Cho's sad, disappointed look. "we can fight the Death Eaters. But I have to take on Voldemort on my own. I'm sorry."  
  
Cho nodded, a few tears in her eyes. She apparently had just realized that Harry was carrying the whole fate of the Wizarding world on his shoulders, and he was only 15 years old.  
  
"You can still help," Harry said encouragingly. "Plus, you'll probably get an A + in Defense Against the Dark Arts." He added, smiling.  
  
Cho couldn't help but smile back at this, and then there was a pause. A long pause.  
  
"I- erm, well." Harry said, not really knowing what to say.  
  
Cho looked like she was going to explode with emotion. She stood up, sat next to Harry, turned his head her way, and planted a kiss on his lips. They broke apart for a second, and Cho said, "Harry, I really like you." and kissed him again.  
  
Harry sat there in a state of shock. When he got over it, though, and shut his eyes, putting his arms around her and holding her close, someone opened the door to their compartment.  
  
"Uh, Harry, I was just- oh." he looked shocked, seeing that look of 'Why- did-you-have-to-chose-now-to-come-in?!' on Harry's face. "Did I spoil a moment?"  
  
Cho blushed, and so did Harry. They sort of scooted away from one another. Harry turned completely pink in the face.  
  
"Okay, I'll just be going. Harry, why don't you come to our compartment whenever you wish." Ron laughed nervously. Harry smiled and said okay, and Ron left, shutting the compartment door behind him.  
  
Harry left Cho when her friend came in to talk to her about, you guessed it, boys and her boyfriend at about 5:30. The train was to stop soon, and Harry still needed to change from Dudley's old, torn blue sweater and huge jeans to his clean, crisp, black school robe. He tried to find Ron and Hermione, and Ginny was supposedly with them.  
  
He walked down the train, searching, when he finally came to their compartment, he silently slid the door open and slipped inside. Ron and Hermione were having a snog-fest, both Ron and Hermione's hair messed up.  
  
So Harry decided to get payback on Ron for spoiling his moment. He jumped right in between them, grinning like his father would have to spoil a moment for Sirius. "Good evening, you two lovebirds," Harry said non- chalantly, lying there between them, checking out his nails as a joke.  
  
Hermione turned red in the cheeks and Ron in the ears. Harry started laughing when Ron punched him on the arm and said, "Hey, just payin' you back," he replied, laughing. He was in a great mood. The best he had been all summer. As a matter of fact, he was in one of the best moods he had ever had.  
  
"So, why are you so happy, Harry?" Hermione asked, quickly changing the subject.  
  
Ron answered, though, "Oh, when I walked in, Romeo here was snogging his dream girl- Cho Chang."  
  
It was Harry's turn to blush. And trust me, he did. Harry got up and changed into his robes (Hermione left the room to go and find Ginny. She had wandered off somewhere with that Michael boy) and Ron winked and nudged Harry.  
  
"Oo, Harry, the perfect catch," he said jokingly.  
  
"Hey, we're not anything yet, she just. kissed me," he replied, pulling his tie around his neck and tying it up.  
  
When Hermione came back with Ginny, Harry was all dressed like the rest of them, and soon the train slowly pulled up to a stop, and Harry went to find Cho, with Hagrid's booming voice making his ears ring- "Firs' years, this way!"  
  
He found her with a group of friends and went to one of the not-so- horseless carriages, holding Cho's hand all the way.  
  
Cho waved good-bye to her friends, and Harry his. Ron and Hermione got into a carriage with Ginny, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan, and Dean Thomas.  
  
Harry and Cho sat opposite each other, and Harry held her hand and looked into her eyes. He decided now would be as good a time as ever. "Cho, will you be my girlfriend?" he asked.  
  
"I thought I already was, silly," she said, getting up and sitting next to him, poking him playfully on the nose.  
  
"I just never got the chance to ask you properly," he stated, holding her close to his side. He whispered, so only she could hear (which was quite unnecessary, as they had a carriage to themselves), "I'll never let you go."  
  
Cho grinned, and couldn't stop. They sat there and cuddled for the rest of the ride.  
  
When the carriages stopped, Harry got out and then offered his hand ever-so gentlemanly for Cho go get out. She smiled and took the offered hand, walking up to the big oak doors of Hogwarts and opening them.  
  
At the enterence of the Great Hall, Harry and Cho grinned at each other, pecked each other on the lips, and went their separate ways.  
  
'This is amazing,' Harry thought, sitting down beside Ron and George (like at the Burrow). 'I'd have never thought of me having a chance with THE Cho Chang. I just can't believe this. It's amazing how close we are already, and we just got together what, an hour ago?'  
  
Harry couldn't stop grinning as he and Cho stared at each other from their tables. Cho was thinking the exact same thing he was, but he didn't know that.  
  
The sorting was done and the feast was prepared, and Dumbledore stood up to make a few regular announcements. "Welcome, new comers and old. I must make some announcements, so if you do not wish to listen, it's completely understandable. Please, feel free to let your attention wander. Alas, I must ask all new students to please, not tread on the Forbidden Forest grounds. The list of unnecessary items for this year at Hogwarts has been extended to some five hundred and thirty six, I do believe. Am I right, Mr. Filch?" Dumbledore asked the caretaker, Mr. Filch, who, with Mrs. Norris, his cat, at his ankles, nodded. "Also, I have a warning. Do not believe the papers, for they do not tell the truth. I warn each and every one of you not to believe them, because Lord Voldemort" -everyone in the hall flinched except Harry-- "has returned. He has not struck yet, because he does not feel it is time yet, I believe. But I assure you all, we are safe from any such harm. Do not be frightened. You're safe." Dumbledore smiled. "And for last words- We're going to take a student vice, to see if we would like another Yule ball this year. There will be a poll sheet in every house Common Room. Please submit your census. If all goes well, we will. If not, well, we won't. Oh, and for my absolute final words- Nitwit! Blubber! Odment! Tweak! Thank you, and tuck in!"  
  
Everyone laughed with each other and did as Dumbledore said. Nearly everyone. Harry suddenly felt a surge of guilt rush through him. He had Cedric's ex-girlfriend. Or widowed girlfriend. He did not know what to call it, but he felt terrible for it. He got sick to his stomach and couldn't eat much.  
  
"What's wrong, Harry?" Ron asked.  
  
"Nothing," he replied quickly. Ron eyed him but chose to ignore how pale he really looked.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Harry lay on his bed in the Gryffindor Boys' Dormitory next to Ron's and Neville's. Everyone else was fast asleep; the delicious cooking had set them unto a sleep-fest. Harry couldn't, somehow. He had to talk to Cho about how he felt about all of this. He wondered if he could tomorrow.  
  
'Tomorrow.' Harry thought, finally, at 12:34, falling asleep.  
  
A/N: Howdy! Thanks for replying everyone. Please, review on this chapter! I'm sorry it took me forever to write. Today I just got inspiration and wrote ¾ of it. lol well please, R/R, and NO FLAMES! Pls! Thanks!  
  
~ Aubyn Lin ~ 


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Hello again! I feel so loved. :D ppl actually reviewed!! I'm really sorry that I haven't posted! I've needed INSPIRATION and it's being gay and keeps walking away from me! :'(!  
  
*** MUI IMPORTANTE side note ***- I know that this takes place in Harry's fifth year. It makes more sense as sixth, with Dumbledore's Army. So I've added that whole ordeal in, because it will make sense later on. I'm thinking of maybe switching the rating to R, because in future chapters there will be bloodshed, killing, and lots of sad things. So yeah, please don't stop reading this ff if I do switch it! Thnx!  
  
Herculeha- another long review. Bravo. lol, well thanks for the review. Poor Harry is right. ::WUH WUH WUUUH:: Guilty feelings suck some major royal ass. You know it! Cho will feel guilty in this chapter also. So I guess they will mourn together. ( Okay, that was just a little bit of fluff there, I hope it will get better. See, I'm no good at that kind of stuff, even though my 'sister' Whitney Lin and my other 'sister' Sara Lin (both on this site) think I'm good. (Don't ask. We're all so close we decided to get names and be triplets. lol)  
  
Also, I'll try to post at least once a week, if not more. (  
  
Bon- Yeah, guilt totally suxx. Hits ya right in the balls. lol! I'm glad I made Harry not as stupid as he was in the fifth book. ( Thanks for the review!  
  
xXdOmOnXx- I thought so. Thanks for reviewing!!  
  
Yoshi-fan2003- Wow, I never even noticed that! Well, I don't know how I can fix it, so I guess I'll just explain.  
  
Everyone, the fictional characters in this story are all suddenly shocked that Harry has decided to speak to everyone again. lol. Thanks for catching that, Yoshi-fan2003!! O, and are you on fictionnet.proboards22.com? I am!!! ::grins:: I feel so special.  
  
And now, my disclaimer: I don't own HP and/or any such related characters and/or plots.  
  
Now that that's over with, on with the show! Oh, and BTW- this chapter may not be as long as last. Gah, I want Sirius to be dead, also. It will fit in. I think.. Idk I will check things up, see if it fits. Ya know? Anyway, on with the show!  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Harry was shaken awake by Ron, who had been shaken awake by Hermione. (Well not so much shaken as kissed.) They all got up and got dressed, remembering that today was the first day of classes.  
  
Harry looked especially thin today. The Dursleys had fed him over the summer, but Dudley was still on his diet and it didn't help one bit. He looked frail and bony, and pretty much disgusting, all in all. He needed to eat.  
  
They walked down as a trio to breakfast and Harry immediately started looking for Cho. She waved to him to come and sit down by her, but Harry hesitated. Guilt struck him again as he looked at her friends surrounding her. A few of them had grins just like Cho's, but about three of them had scowls. He gave them all a nervous and guilty smile, but decided to sit by the rest of the Gryffindors today. Cho got up and sat across from him, smiling.  
  
"Sorry I didn't sit by you," he said automatically. "It's just that- your friends-"  
  
"Oh, it's alright." Cho said. "They think I'm betraying Cedric for-for going out with you and." Harry knew, right then, that she was feeling just as guilty as he was. He saw a tear prickle the end of her eye, and she wiped it away.  
  
"Cho, it's all right. They can't stop us from anything, even if they tried. They can't take us apart," here he grabbed her hand, "Ever. I feel terrible, though, also. But don't worry," he added, smiling. "We'll be fine."  
  
Cho smiled at this and tears leaked from the corner of her eye. They both leaned forward and kissed, and everybody in the Great Hall went silent. Somebody dropped their fork and it landed on the golden plate with a clanking sound.  
  
They both were wondering why. But then it struck Harry. It wasn't like it was unusual for two people of different houses to sit together, or to be together at that. But this was the famous Harry Potter and the mourning Cho Chang. The witness and the ex-girlfriend. Almost all of Cho's friends looked disgusted, with that look of 'Oh-my-god-you-did-NOT-just-do-that!' or the 'you-slut-how-could-you-do-that-to-Cedric' look (A/N: and mine was the: 'wow-I-cant-believe-how-many-describing-words-and-/-or-plain-words-I- can-fit-into-one-look' look.).  
  
"I think they took that as a shock," Harry whispered sarcastically to Cho. She laughed and then looked around at Ron and Hermione expectantly.  
  
"What are you lot looking at?" Ron and Hermione said in unison. As soon as they had, everyone started talking again.  
  
"I think that's our cue to leave, Cho," Harry said, picking up his bag and schedule for the day. Cho agreed and they went into the Enterance Hall, leaving the Great Hall to whisper and chat about what theories could have caused the new Harry/Cho relationship.  
  
Harry and Cho gave each other one final kiss and Harry said, "I'll see you whenever I can, ok?"  
  
"Okay." She replied, heading off outside for her first class- Care of Magical Creatures, while Harry went the opposite way to Defense Against the Dark Arts.  
  
Harry didn't know who the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher would be this year, but he hoped it would be just as good as last, even though that professor was a phony. That "Mad-Eye Moody," who was really Barty Crouch Jr., taught like a real professor should, also like how Lupin did.  
  
He reached the classroom door and stepped inside, noticing that he was first to arrive. He had this class with just the Gryffindors this year, thankfully. No Slytherins he had to deal with in here. Thank god.  
  
Harry sat down in the front of the class on the left side, taking the furthermost desk from the teacher's. He didn't know who it would be, but if it was somebody good, he would, at least, have a proper seat. If it wasn't, then he would just have to back off and avoid answering any questions.  
  
He took out his wand, his textbook, a piece of parchment, a quill and some plain black ink. He set his bag on one seat next to him and one behind him. Ron would sit next to him and Hermione behind. He decided that they didn't need to be passing love letters to each other during class.  
  
Harry laughed at this just as the door swung open. Harry turned around to see who it was.  
  
"REMUS!" Harry exclaimed, jumping out of his chair and going over to him.  
  
Remus Lupin laughed and replied with, "I'm no longer Remus, or Moony. I'm Professor Lupin, Harry. And it's great to be back here. You wouldn't know how much I missed teaching."  
  
Harry couldn't stop grinning, but frowned in a second after that. "Just after I got used to calling you Remus or Moony, too. Why didn't you tell me you got this job?"  
  
Professor Lupin laughed and said, "Thought it would make a bit of a surprise, you know? Where are Ron and Hermione, or your fellow students, at that?" he asked. Just then, the door swung open yet again, and Ron and Hermione came in, holding hands. Harry moved his things to the front of the class.  
  
"Remus!" They both yelled, running up to him also.  
  
"Ah, ah, ah," he said, shaking his finger at them. "Professor Lupin. Just got done explaining that to Harry, I did."  
  
"Sorry, Professor Lupin." Hermione said. She had that look of, 'I-should- have-known-better'.  
  
"It's quite alright, but do just remember to call me that." He replied. Harry noticed how old and frail he looked. Even though he was really only in his 30's (Truth be told, Harry truly didn't know how old he was, really), Remus, er, Professor Lupin looked older than he was. His light brown hair was flecked with bits of gray and his eyes had dark grayish- purple bags under them. His eyes looked dull and gray, even though they were gray beforehand. Must be that time of the month, and I mean werewolf- wise. (lol)  
  
Harry sat down as the rest of his classmates settled in. Seamus and Dean sat behind him, and Neville next to them. Parvati and Lavender sat next to Hermione, and finally, class began.  
  
"I am honored to be back here and working again," Professor Lupin started. Everyone in the classroom nodded in agreement. "And I hope to work, like 'Professor Moody' did, on curses and how to block them. No, I will not be doing the unforgivable three," he added, reading some people's fearful looks (::cough, Neville's, cough:: ) like the cover of a book. "Would you all put those away, and stand up? You need nothing but your wand." Everybody put their inks, quills, and books away and stood up.  
  
With a swish of Professor Lupin's wand, all the desks were piled neatly on top of one another on both sides of the room, leaving a clean space in the middle, where the whole class moved.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
When class ended, everyone was overjoyed. That class was better than any one that they had ever had. Hermione found it very, very interesting, as they learned an ancient curse she had never heard of before, and how to block it and a few other dangerous curses.  
  
Finally, Ron and Harry got sick of Hermione's ranting and told her to zip it, right after which Ron gave her a small kiss on the lips, and she blushed and finally stopped talking.  
  
"Thanks, Ron," Harry said, laughing. "Bout time, too." Hermione reached over and smacked him round the shoulder.  
  
Harry laughed. But he had to tell them, he had to tell them everything that had gone on. Everything that Cho had wanted for revenge on Voldemort, everything that Godric had told him, he needed to say to them.  
  
"Hermione, Ron." Harry whispered so only they could hear. "Cho wants revenge."  
  
"Revenge?" Hermione and Ron asked at the same time.  
  
"Shh, not so loud! She wants revenge, though, on Voldemort for killing Cedric. I'm with her. We need to get the DA back together- we have to. You can help. But do you know of the prophecy? I myself must murder Voldemort for the world to be rid of all evil. But how will we do this, you guys?" Harry asked.  
  
Hermione looked deep in thought. "There's only one thing we can do. Ron, Harry, you two gather up everybody from Dumbledore's Army- except Michael Conner and friends and Cho's friend."  
  
"And after that," Harry continued her sentence, "We go to that Room Dobby told me about, The Room of Requirement, the one we used last time we rounded up the DA. Let's devise a plan from there."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all walked into the Gryffindor Common Room that night with determined looks on their faces. They went their separate ways, and Harry first walked over to Seamus and Dean.  
  
"Seamus, Dean," Harry whispered, kneeling next to their game. They were playing Gobstones, and Dean just got squirted by one.  
  
"Ahh, shit," Dean said, rubbing the greenish liquid off his eyes. "Yeah, Harry? What's up?"  
  
Harry motioned them to lean in. When they did, he whispered, "We're on revenge for Cedric. We're gathering up the DA again, and we're going to fight Voldemort." Both Seamus and Dean flinched, but they nodded firmly. "Pass it on to others in the DA. We'll meet in the Room of Requirement on Wednesday, after classes, okay?" Harry whispered as final words, clapping both of them on their backs.  
  
He stood, looked at Ron and Hermione (Ron was convincing Ginny and a few of her friends while Hermione was getting Parvati and Lavender to come) and when they both stood up, they met each other in the middle of the common room. They gave each other the thumbs-up sign and went to the Library to find the rest of their DA companions.  
  
Hermione nodded at Madame Pince and gave her a smile as she entered first. Madame Pince, as shock to Ron and Harry, gave Hermione a smile back and then went on to her work.  
  
"Made friends, Hermione?" Ron whispered in her ear.  
  
"Yes, actually. If you have a problem with it, you can go and-"  
  
"Hermione! Not in front of the children!" Harry interrupted, pointing to some scared-looking first years who were listening to their conversation.  
  
Hermione blushed and said, "Look, there's Ernie and Hannah," Hermione said, leading the way over to them. Harry and Ron snickered behind her back until Hermione turned and gave them each a look.  
  
"Hey Ernie, Hannah," Hermione said, sitting down. "Harry has to tell you something."  
  
Harry sat down and motioned for them to lean in. He told them the exact same thing he told Seamus and Dean, and when they both nodded Harry grinned.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Soon word was spread all round school (for the members of the DA) and Wednesday finally arrived. After classes, Harry walked right up to the room Dobby had told him about, walked by three times, thinking of everything he needed for this new class, and a door appeared on the wall.  
  
Harry smiled and opened it, walking inside. Nobody was there yet.  
  
So he lay his things upon a stray teacher's desk that was sitting in the corner of the room and then walked around, checking out the items that traced the wall. A foe glass and many Sneakascopes were lying here and there. Many other magical Auror bits and bobs lay on desks along with them. Harry inspected them, until he heard someone come in.  
  
"Harry?" came the voice of his girlfriend, Cho Chang.  
  
Harry's heart gave a plummet and his body froze up. That guilty feeling not only was buried into the pit of his stomach, but also in his heart. His eyes showed it, also.  
  
"What's wrong, Harry?" Cho asked, putting his arm around him.  
  
Harry flinched ever-so-slightly under her touch. She frowned. "You're still feeling guilty, aren't you?"  
  
Harry nodded sheepishly. "It's okay, Harry. You shouldn't feel this way- Cedric and I were friends, very close friends. We were never an item until right before the Yule Ball last year. It wasn't serious, Harry, it never was. You don't need to feel guilty over this," she whispered. At that, she took a hold of his chin and planted a kiss on his lips and giving him a long hug. They sat there for a while in silence. Cho was crying silently, making Harry's robed shoulder all wet, and Harry was on the verge of tears.  
  
Harry couldn't help it. The guilt lifted off of him, and he was then in a good mood. Cho had just explained why she wasn't as guilty as he was.  
  
A few moments later, other people started to leak inside of the room. Soon, everyone was assembled and ready for another class.  
  
"Well," Harry said to the group. He noticed a few new recruits, such as Terry Boot and Rodger Daves and a couple of Hufflepuffs he hadn't seen before. "I'm glad to see you all back here, and a few new faces. I'm glad you lot could join!" He gave them all a smile. He knew he sounded pathetically like a teacher, but then again, that was his current, daresay, 'occupation.' Harry started again. "Well, to start things off, I may as well explain why we're here today." Everyone nodded.  
  
"Well, as most well all of you know, Cedric was-was murdered last year," Harry started off, his voice choking a bit. He cleared his throat and continued. "I have a proposition for those who are willing to risk their lives for his sake, and also people who have died in the past, and those who will die in the near future. We're going to take on Voldemort and his Death Eaters for the sake of Cedric, my parents, Neville's parents, and all those families who have suffered. Are you with me?" Harry half-yelled.  
  
For a while there was silence. Suddenly, everyone erupted into great cheers. Harry grinned. "Let's get started then." He said, smiling.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
YAY! That took a while to write. Sorry!! I will post this tomorrow, or sometime! K? PLEASE, R/R! 


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: HI!! Again. I'm sorry for mistakes in my printing here…some things just won't work out how I want them to! T__T  
  
Again, since I can't get italics to work, 'this' will represent thoughts. Thanks.  
  
Herculeha- Professor Lupin ROXX! Any objections, you lot can talk to my lawyer. ^__^ IDK, I may change the rating, but for now I'm not sure. And yeah, let's hope they don't make too many terrible mistakes. ^__~ They might, we never know. Mwahahaha,. I love being evil!  
  
LBlackPhoenix- Thanks, you're all gonna hate me when I tell you how this story ends! Forewarning: Major Cliffy! Mwahahaha I guess I'll have to write a sequel, huh? Actually, I've forgotten how it's ended already. T__T I will have to re-think it… T__T Mwahahaha… and thanks, I'm good at language arts things, so I guess that's just a given. And that was really conceited, lol And thanks, for the review! I feel so loved. ^_____^ (lots of thanks)  
  
Panuru4u- don't you read my author's notes? I always say: EVEN THOUGH THIS IS A FIFTH-YEAR FIC, THE DA WILL BE A HUGE HELP, SO I AM ADDING THEM IN. It's not exactly tracing the tight lines of OotP! It IS my fanfic, and I want it to be fifth year, and since they make sense in there… I'm adding them. So why can't I just write it my way, not Joanne's, without people pointing out such silly little things? -__-' anyway, thanks for your review. ^_____^ I'm sorry if I sounded mean. T__T  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and/or any such related characters and/or plots. If you honestly think that I do, you must be very crazy. Plus, if you don't know who the true author of Harry Potter honestly is… WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? You don't know anything abou this series! And finally, if I DID own Harry Potter, I would be very, very famous and the richest woman in England. Which I'm not. So there.  
  
That was a really long disclaimer. Anyhoo… here is chapter 8!! Curtains up! (I read that in a fanfic somewhere. ^__^) ~~Always Remember~~  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 8  
  
Harry was in his dormitory, lying on his bed. He was thinking deeply about everything that was happening: Cho, Voldemort, the prophecy, his best friends going out… so many things to screw up life.  
  
Harry sighed. 'Cho's my girlfriend. What am I doing there anyway? I don't deserve her… and that's such a blant statement. I am Cho Chang's boyfriend. I never thought I would be good enough for her. I don't understand… why did she choose me? She could have, and still can, have any guy in this whole school… and last year she had the most handsome one, according to most… Cedric Diggory. She says that they were close friends, and only an item before the Yule Ball. But what does that help? They still were together, until…'  
  
His thoughts drifted from Cho and Cedric right then straight to Voldemort and the Prophecy.  
  
'Voldemort. It all comes down to him. If he hadn't killed Cedric, I wouldn't have Cho.' Harry paused. 'I can't believe how conceited I just sounded…. How could I have even thought that?' He slammed his palm against his forehead, but continued his thoughts. 'But it's true…' a little voice in the back of his head declared. Harry shivered. It was, no matter how much he didn't want to admit it.  
  
"Harry?" Ron asked, interrupting his thoughts.  
  
"Erm, yeah, Ron?" Harry asked. Ron's head peaked through his bed drapes.  
  
"Well, I just thought I'd tell you that Hermione and I are going to go for a walk. So if you need us, we'll be wondering aimlessly around this place. Hey, can we use your Invisibility cloak?"  
  
Harry nodded. "In my trunk."  
  
"Thanks." Ron reached over and magically unlocked Harry's trunk. He grabbed the Invisibility Cloak, shut it, and waved good-bye to Harry.  
  
As soon as he was gone, Harry sat up and shut his bed curtains where Ron had opened them. He flumped back down unto his red sheets, hoping he could still remember the brilliant thing he had thought just before Ron had come in.  
  
But, like all good things, it came and went, and Harry, mad at himself for not remembering, tried to fall asleep. But he was still up to hear Ron come back in at 1:36.  
  
Sighing, he shoved his face into his pillow and let out a muffled, near- silent scream. It would be a frustrating night.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
He woke up the next morning very early. So unnaturally early, in fact, that the sun wasn't even awake yet; the sky was still a grayish color. He laughed at this as he got into his clothes and robes. He went down into the common room, the lonely, empty common room.  
  
He sighed as he sat upon a very fluffy red ottoman in a shaded place of the Common Room. Somebody's copy, probably the library's, of Quidditch Through the Ages sat on a table next to him. He picked it up and turned to his favorite chapter: Chapter 12, Broomsticks through the Ages.  
  
He'd read it a million times or more, so he set it back down as soon as he finished the first page.  
  
But as soon as he got the book away from his face, a certain, very familiar ghost was sitting, cross-legged, floating on the air above his knees.  
  
"Hello, Godric," Harry said, giving him a smile.  
  
"Good morning, Mister Potter. I have never seen you awake this early of the day. Not sleeping well?"  
  
"No, not at all. I've just been thinking about- about the Prophecy, and Voldemort… I don't understand how I will manage to kill him, and restore good to everywhere in the Wizarding World. Oh why me? Why was I burdened with this, this stupid prophecy? I mean, the fate of the whole frickin' wizarding community is on my shoulders, and I hate it!" Harry complained, slamming his palm into his forehead.  
  
"Don't fret, Harry. Those of great power unimaginable such as yourself can defeat anything. I have already told you why YOU were burdened for this. The Dark Lord chose you and marked you, because of prophecy made before. But trust you me, when the day comes, you will be especially glad that you were burdened with this, daresay, 'stupid prophecy'."  
  
And with that, Godric faded away, just as Lavender Brown appeared at the top of the girls' dormitory stairwell.  
  
"Harry?" she said tiredly. "Is that you? Who's with you?"  
  
"Yeah, Lavender, it's me. But nobody's with me. Why?"  
  
"I thought I heard voices down here. God, I must have been dreaming," Lavender said, turning around. "See you later, Harry."  
  
"See ya," Harry replied, staring strangely at Lavender's retreating back, her medium-length salt-and-pepper-like hair swaying as she walked.  
  
"Well, that was weird," Harry said to himself. He decided that maybe reading Chapter 12 of his favorite book wouldn't be such a bad pastime, so he grabbed Quidditch Through the Ages and flipped to page 153.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Classes ticked by that day, and the rest of the week also. Soon enough, it was time for their next DA meeting, taking place, as always, in the Room of Requirement.  
  
Harry was the last one there, surprisingly. Apparently, some two or three people faked sick to get there and others just decided to leave class early. The rest just ran fast. (A/N: lol. I'm a dork.)  
  
Harry took role call, and smiled knowing that everyone was there. He half- sat on the teacher's desk, much like Remus- I mean, Professor Lupin did while he was talking. Harry did this by habbit though. I guess it was just a thing Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers did, even though Quirrel, Lockhart, and the fake Professor Moody never did anything of the sort.  
  
"Firstly," Harry said. "I would like to know your names." He pointed at two Hufflepuffs, sitting apprehensively at the back of the group. They jumped, and replied.  
  
The girl said her name first. "My name's Jaden Abernackle. I'm, I'm in fourth year."  
  
"And I'm Jordain Abernackle, her twin brother. Same year, obviously." The boy replied, giving him a little smirk and then smiling at him. Harry then noticed that they did look somewhat alike- same eyes, ears, the same freckles dotting their stout noses.  
  
"Fantastic. Glad to meet you. I'm sure everyone will introduce themselves to you while we're working on whatever we may do. Today, I'm up for suggestions. Any curses, blocking techniques, countercurses, or any such random thing you lot think would be useful, just say something."  
  
For a minute, everyone was just sitting in silence, thinking. Then about two or three hands shot up in the air.  
  
"Uhh, ok, Cho?" Harry half-asked, pointing to her hand in the air.  
  
"Harry, what about… Petrificus Totalus? And the Leg-locker curse?"  
  
"Oh, the full body bind. Hermione knows all about that. But before we do that, anybody else?"  
  
Neville, surprisingly, raised his hand. "Stupefy?"  
  
Harry took out a quill and parchment. "Excellent idea, Neville," he said, writing it down. "Any others?"  
  
The Hufflepuff girl, Jaden, raised her hand. "How about… the Conjunctivus curse?" Harry wrote it down.  
  
Another few people raised their hands and gave suggestions. When they were finally done, the 'class' had compiled a list of twelve different, useful curses and spells that would really be helpful.  
  
Then, Harry motioned for Hermione to take the stand as he moved to the side. She looked nervous about it at first, but when she got up there, everyone was blown away. Hermione would make the perfect teacher.  
  
"To start things off… How many of you know what and how to do Petrificus Totalus?" she asked everyone. Five or six hands raised into the air, including Harry's. "I'm not surprised. Had to look it up myself. Alright, those of you who do to please, help me teach the rest of the class. Everybody up, and take out your wands."  
  
Everyone rose out of their seats and pulled their wands from their pockets. Some of them were looking prepared and others had anxious looks on their faces, not knowing exactly what Petrificus Totalus was.  
  
"Pair up," Hermione and Harry yelled simultaneously. He smiled at her in a way of saying, 'you take that side. I'll take this.'  
  
Harry said to the class, now paired up and ready, "Those who know the Full- Body Bind, please leave your partners and join me and Hermione up here."  
  
Ron, Cho, Ginny, one unknown Hufflepuff, Hannah Abbott, and Rodger Davies stepped up. Harry and Hermione ushered them toward where they were standing and Harry said, "You lot, go around and teach everyone. Hermione and I, Cho and Ron if you want to, will go around teaching them stances. Hermione says there's a specific stance that makes the curse more efficient. Right?" Hermione nodded fervently. They split up and walked around the group.  
  
A half-hour later, just about everybody got Petrificus Totalus down. Neville, surprisingly, had the best in the class (besides those who already knew how to do it). They were just about to move on to the leg-locker curse, but then somebody very unwelcome at that moment walked through the Room of Requirement Door.  
  
"Remus," Harry whispered. He wondered how it looked to the Professor as he walked through the door: thirty or so students, all with their wands out- some lying on the floor, legs locked and unable to move, and others were just getting up off the floor. Some were holding out their wands and pointing them at their partners, about to say the curse, but then when Professor Lupin came in, everyone was silent and stayed still and frozen just how they were.  
  
"Ahem," Professor Lupin said, breaking the ice. At that, everyone moved into a position as to put their wands away. "Wait," he said, holding out his hand to stop them. "Before you do that, mind explaining to me what's going on?"  
  
Everyone turned to look at Harry, who was standing up in the front of the class, feeling hopeless. Remus eyed him with a strange expression, eyebrow raised, his arms crossed. "Well, Harry? What's going on here?"  
  
Harry gulped and thought quick. He didn't want to explain to Professor Lupin exactly what Dumbledore's Army was doing, so he replied with, "We're just fitting in a little extra charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts… just a little practice for class…"  
  
Ron and Hermione nodded, and then soon everyone was nodding. Professor Lupin, looking quite unconvinced, just raised his eyebrow and said, "Well, alright, if you are, why don't I just help?"  
  
Harry looked at Ron and Hermione. "Sure, why not? We have all sorts of curses we wanted to practice, just for common knowledge first off, like Petrificus Totalus and the Leg-Locker curse…"  
  
Rem- Professor Lupin took the list and read through it, nodding. "Some excellent choices." Then he whispered to Harry as he walked by, "And some are good against Voldemort."  
  
Harry's eyes went wide, looking at Professor Lupin's turned back with scared eyes. Could he know about the DA?  
  
Professor Lupin turned to Harry and smirked. Then he turned to the class and sat, like Harry had, halfway on the desk asking, "Okay, so what were you lot doing when I walked in?"  
  
Hermione answered that one. "We were doing the Leg-Locker, Professor."  
  
Professor Lupin smiled down on her, remembering the days of the Marauders- Harry knew by the expression in his eyes that he was- Sirius often shared that expression while telling tales of midnight pranks and skiving class. He shook his head and then replied with, "Well, how are you all coming along?"  
  
"Lots of us have already encountered and nailed the Leg-Locker Curse, and some of us are still working on it Rem- I mean, Professor." Harry replied, looking at the rest of the class for help. They all nodded, pointing at a few people on the floor, unable to move their legs.  
  
"Alright then. Let's get started."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Class ended, and everyone was happy. It was like having another DADA class. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stayed back to tell Professor Lupin the truth.  
  
"Remus," Harry said. "That wasn't just a plain, pointless practice…"  
  
"Oh, I know, Harry. I know. You've gathered up Dumbledore's Army again and you're planning to go and defeat Voldemort yourself. But honestly Harry, I know you are the only one capable of defeating Voldemort, as said in the prophecy, but is it really worth risking fellow students' lives for something that you, and only you, are worthy of doing?"  
  
Harry gulped, realizing the trueness of his words. But then a sudden surge of anger rushed through him and he began to yell. "Remus! Don't you see, I can take the words right out of Sirius's mouth! It is worth dying for! Defeating Voldemort is anything and everything that my life's worth right now according to this damn prophecy, and I want to live my own life and get it over with! Do you not understand?!"  
  
Remus sat, shocked for a bit. But then he smiled. "I understand completely, Harry. I know what you're feeling right now, and I know this whole Voldemort-prophecy-you triangle must be getting to you. But I know how you feel-"  
  
"NO! You don't know how I feel! You don't have to live with the constant pressure of the fate of everyone, everywhere, on your shoulders! You don't know what it's like, so do NOT tell me that you do!"  
  
And with that, Harry stormed out, needing some alone time.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
mwahahahaha wasn't that just GREAT? I thought so. I didn't expect Harry to blow up at Remus like that, but, alas, he did anyway. Fits in good, don't you think? ^__- Well, I guess I had better go upload this chapter and then post it, shouldn't I, before you mob of reviewers attack me!! Don't hurt me! ::cowers away from them in the corner::  
  
ok, I will go post this. Thanks to all reviewers again, and I hope you liked this chapter! Sorry it took so long to write!! 


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: HIIII!!!! I'm back, and I'm ready to go! Sorry about last chapter. It was being stupid. -__-' thanks to all the reviewers!!! Helped me a lot, you did! And I'm sorry, I would say who reviewed right here but I lost all my reviews!!! T_________T, Oh well. You know who you are.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and/or any such related characters and/or plots. Thanks.  
  
I've been thinking, everyone. Would this fanfic make more sense if it were in Harry's sixth year? I know the beginning's kinda wack, but it's turned out to be better as sixth. Right? Hmm. well  
  
THIS IS HARRY'S SIXTH YEAR!! NOT FIFTH!!!  
  
And I don't recall if Ron and Hermione have had their first kiss yet. But I assure you, it will happen. wink wink, lol  
  
Hehe here: ~ Always Remember ~ Sirius Black ~ Cedric Diggory ~  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chapter 9  
  
Ron stared at the door as he slammed it behind him and went towards it. Hermione stopped him, looking at Remus.  
  
He sighed. "Ron, Harry needs some time to think. Let him be for a while," he said, his arms folded and shaking his head. Ron nodded.  
  
"Letsgo, 'Mione," Ron muttered, his head facing down. She nodded, putting on a fake smile for Professor Lupin. He waved and watched in silence as they left.  
  
When the door shut, Remus looked around. He looked at the Foe Glasses that lined the four corners and the shelves full of completely still Sneakaskopes, some bigger than others. There were other Anti-Dark Arts equipment that he was sure that Dumbledore's Army hadn't got around to learning about yet.  
  
He sighed and stared at the door in which Harry left.  
  
'It must be really hard for him. I can't believe I said I know how he feels. That was incredibly stupid, Moony. He'll probably hate you now.  
  
'No, he won't. He can't. I'm all he has left. no! that was incredibly conceited of you Moony. How could you ever THINK that?! Ugh, I wish Padfoot were here. He would know what to do. but alas, if he were here we probably wouldn't even be in this mess.' Remus fought with himself. He rubbed his temples with his two fingers and sighed.  
  
He picked himself up and headed towards the door. He sighed as he tilted his head the slightest bit (it was still facing downward) so he could look back one more time at the Room of Requirement, and left for his office.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Harry was fuming in his empty boys' dormitory. How could Remus ever think that he knew what he was going through?! HE wasn't forced the fate of the whole world atop his shoulders. HE didn't know what that was like. All HE had to do was help the Order. and he couldn't even defeat Voldemort himself. So what was he to say that he knew how he was feeling?! Nobody did! Nobody knew exactly how life was for him right now.  
  
Sure, he had the perfect girlfriend and he was famous, but that wasn't anything to be extremely overjoyed about. He was terrified. Being famous was the worst thing to happen to him, other than being born and then marked for death. literally. Kill or be killed. That's his life functionary motto. How pathetic.  
  
All that AND Cho's seventeenth birthday was coming up on the day before Christmas. What a nightmare.  
  
Harry was completely furious, and he didn't exactly know why. Remus was just trying to be the caring guy he is, especially now since. since Sirius is gone.  
  
Harry slammed his head against the wall. How stupid of him! Remus was just trying to help, and he blew up at him! He broke trust in the only person who can be a parent to him right now, and he'll probably hate him, Harry, too.  
  
Harry fell onto the bed and let out a long-awaited, muffled scream into his pillow.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~ (A/N: Aye, major Fluffiness on the horizon, matey. lol. This is odd. I never write fluff. O.o)  
  
Ron and Hermione walked side-by-side around the lake. Soon as well, they came to a spot where there were trees surrounding it and ending at the lake, a very small clearing. It was about five feet wide at most, and it went about five feet back and ended at the lake. It was a perfect place to sit and talk without being disturbed, because nobody would be able to see you very well. Ron smiled.  
  
They both sat down, leaned up against a tree. Hermione started to speak.  
  
"Ron, I'm getting really worried about Harry. Ever since Sirius died, he's been looking and obviously feeling so glum and down. and now all he has left is Remus, and he's mad at him too. I don't know what to do, Ron. What if he breaks down, and what if he feels helpless? What are we going to do then?"  
  
Hermione started to cry. Ron put his arm around her and pulled her close. He said, "We can't worry too much about Harry, because I know that he will be perfectly fine. He has never let us down before, and I know that he never will."  
  
He touched the tip of her nose and she smiled. Just as he did, the wind picked up and she shivered. Ron pulled her even closer to him and the wind died down. Hermione leaned onto him and smiled.  
  
A few short moments later, the wind picked up again and snow, pure white and soft, started to gently fall from the sky.  
  
Hermione grinned and stood up, running into the part of the clearing where there was a large-ish gap between the tree balconies. She spun in circles, her arms wide, facing the falling snow. It landed on her face gently, and it lay in her hair.  
  
Ron stared as she finally came to a stop and stared at him, grinning. She motioned for him to come to her, and he did so, after a moment.  
  
In Ron's opinion, Hermione looked like a snow goddess. Her arms open wide, the snow twinkling in her hair and on her face. Her brown eyes glittered as she smiled at him, and Ron realized that she loved the snow. A blanket of snow now covered the ground as he got up and walked next to her, taking her into his arms.  
  
Hermione leaned her back against him, and they both stared up into the now- risen cresent moon. The snow fell on their eyelashes and hair, making them appear as if they had flecks of white hair mixed with their regular colors.  
  
Ron heard Hermione sigh, and he asked, "What is it, Hermione?" he turned her around and gave her a small hug before looking into her chocolate-brown eyes.  
  
She smiled and turned back around to lean against him. "I love the snow, and I always have. Especially the first fall. It's so. wonderful." She breathed in and let it out, still smiling.  
  
Ron grinned. "I love the snow too, you know. Fred and George always used to shove me in it, so after a while you learn to love it."  
  
Hermione laughed and turned around to stare into his blue eyes. For a while they just stood their, Ron holding her close in his arms, allowing the snow to fall on them.  
  
Snow fell on Hermione's eyelashes as she looked up into his eyes. She looked like an angel, Ron thought, as he watched the moonlight dance along with the falling snow. He smiled and leaned into her, shutting his eyes.  
  
Hermione did so also, and they shared their very long-awaited first kiss.  
  
They split apart, and Hermione gave him a hug, her face red but a dreamy look plastered it. They stood their in each other's arms for a long while, saying nothing. They didn't have to. They understood every single thing through that kiss. Sparks flew. Hermione thought she was almost absolutely sure that he was the one.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Harry got up off his bed, with a sudden guilty feeling. He knew he should go apologize to Remus. And that's what he was intending to do.  
  
Grabbing his shoes and sliding them on, he reached into his trunk to grab his Invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map. Before he wrapped it over his head, he stared outside. It was snowing!  
  
He smiled, and then pulled the cloak over his head, becoming completely invisible, just as Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas entered the dorm, laughing and talking, about to go to sleep.  
  
He slid out the door before they could shut it and went down to the Common Room. It wasn't really packed, only about five or six people working on homework, but there were enough people there that he could and most possibly would get caught if he dare bother to open the portrait.  
  
Most fortunately, Ron and Hermione just walked in the Common Room. Harry noticed how close they were standing and then realized that they were holding hands that were covered by warm, woolen and yarn gloves that Mrs. Weasley obviously made for Ron a few years ago.  
  
He smiled at them and then realized that the portrait of the Fat Lady would soon be shutting, so he ran, not much bothering to slide past people but pushed them away, and slid through the small hole before the portrait slammed shut behind him, just after the Invisibility Cloak flicked through. (A/N: Holy shit, that was a paragraph-long sentence. ^____~)  
  
"Phew," Harry said, leaning against the wall. He knew that people were wondering what happened, but he continued to slowly walk. He really needed to apologize to Remus, and not dawdle on petty things like people getting suspicious of the invisible person who pushed them out of his way.  
  
Harry rose from his spot on the wall and made sure that the Invisibility Cloak covered his feet and he pulled out the Marauder's Map, to make sure he knew where he was going and that he wouldn't run into anybody on the way.  
  
Thankfully, he didn't meet anybody until he reached the third floor, which was where Remus's office was. In fact, he came across Mrs. Norris about ten feet away from his office. He walked right past her, however, and ran to Remus's office. He knocked.  
  
"Come in, Harry," Remus's voice came from inside. Harry heard the scratching of a quill as if he were correcting papers and what not.  
  
Harry twisted the door handle and walked inside. After a while, Remus said, "Take off the cloak and stay a while," offering him a seat across from his desk.  
  
Harry laughed at his own stupidity and took off the cloak, setting it on the armrest. He sat down and watched Remus for a while, watching the elegant eagle-feather quill etch letters onto the parchment with red-ish colored ink. There was a stack of papers that looked as though they had already been corrected. Remus set down his quill, folded his hands, leaned back into his chair and looked at Harry.  
  
Harry sighed. "I'm sorry for yelling at you before. It's just, I have everything on my shoulders, and now that Sirius is gone. Well, everything's just been piling up and I haven't been able to let it out."  
  
"Say no more, Harry, I completely understand. Don't yell at me for saying that, because I do understand." Harry smiled at him and he continued. "I know that Padfoot was like the father you never really had and well now I'm left. And I know I'm not nearly as good of a, a. supervisor as James or Sirius and I never will be, because I'm the strict, rule-abiding professor- "  
  
Harry interrupted him right then and there. "Look, Remus, you are great. You've helped me, a lot, through this, with Sirius's death and everything that's been happening so far. it's just. I don't know. Maybe it's just that I have everything bad I could imagine happening to me, and it's just not fitting in and working with me right now."  
  
Remus sighed and rubbed his eyes. A smile twitched on his lips. "Harry, I just really want you to know that I'm here whenever you really need me. okay? So don't be afraid to ask on anything."  
  
"Thanks," Harry replied. He sat for a moment, and then said, "And what do you get and do for a sixteen-year-old girl for her seventeenth birthday? And Christmas?"  
  
Remus chuckled and Harry smiled, but he was nervous. He had no idea what to get Cho for her birthday- plus it was the day before Christmas.  
  
"Well, if it's coming up. is it right around Christmas?" Remus asked.  
  
Harry nodded. "The day before." He felt a little strange. This was usually something he would ask Sirius. He'd never pictured himself asking Remus Lupin on girl troubles. He inwardly laughed at that, figuring that he would be asking Remus a lot of things later on in life.  
  
"Well." Remus paused. "Well, who is she?"  
  
Harry blushed. "Cho Chang," he muttered.  
  
"Oh, the Seeker for Ravenclaw. Nice catch," Remus laughed at that. Harry realized that many people had said that recently. "Well, you may as well do something like a moonlight broomstick ride.. Or something like that. Then you should get her. hmm." Remus looked as though he were remembering back to what he or James and Sirius did back in the days of the Marauders. "Aha, I remember. James got your mother a golden locket with her name etched into it on her seventeenth birthday. Maybe you should get that for Miss Chang. Or a bracelet. Or something."  
  
Harry thought for a moment. "Maybe a Snitch necklace, with her name etched into it? I mean, she loves Quidditch."  
  
"Brilliant, Harry. Positively brilliant. Then you'll have to do that for her. And, maybe a little something else you could find at this shop." He winked as he wrote down a name of a shop in Hogsmeade that was obviously a jewelry store, or something. It was called, "Madame Jherika's Gifts, Tips, and Tricks for everyone."  
  
Harry grinned and said, "Thanks, Remus. That was really helpful." Harry got up to leave.  
  
"Your welcome. See you in class."  
  
Harry nodded and left, sliding the Invisibility Cloak on before he did so, a grin plastered on his face.  
  
He walked back to the Gryffindor Common Room, and went to his dormitory. He was very tired, even though it was barely eleven o'clock at night. He could hear Ron's snores, though, and a small muffled, "Her. mione." coming form him. He smiled and started to wonder what happened on that walk of theirs, or wherever they went.  
  
But at that moment, all he could honestly focus on was Cho. Cho, Cho, Cho, Cho, Cho. Her name rang in his head, constantly. The grin seemed to be permanently glued to his face as he thought about her, and how much she might like the gift (or maybe more than one gift) that he was going to get for her.  
  
A pang of nervousness passed through him as he took off his shoes and lay down on his bed. What if she DIDN'T like her gift? What if it reminded her of Cedric? But what if it didn't, and she really didn't just want it?  
  
He bit his nail, all sorts of questions of that sort running through his head.  
  
"Chill out Harry," he whispered to himself. "She'll like it."  
  
He leaned on his elbows and crawled into his covers, wondering when he got into his pajamas. He shook his head, however and took off his glasses, setting them on his bedside table. Continuous snores from Neville and Ron protruded from either side of him. Then he wondered how he ever got to sleep with all that noise, but decided to ignore it.  
  
The grin was back on his face. He just couldn't wait until the next Hogsmeade visit rolled around. Then he could drag Ron to the shop with him (and maybe even Hermione, if she wanted) and pick out what he would think Cho would like. He knew it would be very hard to do, but at least it would make Cho happy..  
  
He fell onto his pillow, making a mental note to remember the name of Madame Jherika's store and what he would ask for, and started to fall asleep, soon to have fantastic dreams about Cho.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Well, that was a splendid chapter! I liked it. I even liked the fluffy RW/HG part!! I usually don't write fluff. In fact, I never write it. Until I wrote this story. I found it's quite enjoyable. LOL not really. Action/Adventure is better. Hehehehe. well  
  
PLEASE, I BEG OF YOU, ALL OF YOU!! READ!!! REVIEW!!! PLEASE!!!  
  
LOL. Seriously, see that little button that says 'go'? Well if it's set to 'submit review', you click it, log in, and then you. wuh wuh wuh. REVIEW!!! And tell me what you think of this chapter so far. Hehehehe. you know, I'm almost too sarcastic for my own good sometimes. ^____~  
  
Well, really, I'm just taking up space, so I guess I can go upload this now. Please review!!! 


	10. Chapter 10

I'M SORRY EVERYBODY! I HAVE BEEN GROUNDED FOR TWO WEEKS (remember, you lot, I'm only 13) AND THAT'S WHY THIS HAS NOT BEEN POSTED, OR WILL NOT BE POSTED, IN THE VERY VERY NEAR FUTURE!!! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!! ::backs away::  
  
A/N: HI, again!!! I GOT REVIEWS!!!! Yay! Herculeha, you didn't review!! T____T. Oh well. To reviewers from chapter nine:  
  
Hippyman69- I know, I've read a couple of fics like that. but this fanfic is only PG-13, so I guess that wouldn't really work. ^___^' Thanks for the review!  
  
Panuru4u- I know, that was a fluffy chapter. I never, NEVER, write fluff. O.o It's odd. Oh well. I liked it. Ron and Hermione are so cute. ^__~ I was hoping I was doing a good job with the whole Harry-fate-of-the-world-on-his- shoulders deal. ^_^' hehe Thanks for the review.  
  
Dark-jitsu- no shit. of course the DA came in fifth year. Have you read the Author's Notes?! HELLO?!?!?! I keep saying that this is Harry's SIXTH YEAR AT HOGWARTS. Pay attention. Sorry if I sound mean.  
  
I love Cho- thanks!!! You gave me plenty of reviews. -__-;;;; lol, anyway, yes I know I screwed up on many things in here. and I'll try to put in more fluff, but. gah. I'm sorry. I'll try!!!! Don't kill me if I can't!!! Thanks for the review(s)!!!  
  
Reviewers from Chapter 8 (I found them. lol):  
  
Panuru4u (again)- I think I should repost that chapter, but then again, I don't think so. Maybe I will. IDK.  
  
Ilovedave- thanks!!  
  
Herculeha (you reviewed to this chappie! Yay!)- well since you wrote so much I won't write much here. Thanks for the review, and yeah, I'm glad Remus is back. ^_^  
  
Lil-km-boi- thanks!!  
  
And finally, my disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and/or any such related characters and/or plots.  
  
I finally made it to chapter 10!!!!!!!! ^__________________^ hehehe Well since this is just taking up space, I'll just say that this is the chappie where our trio goes to Hogsmeade. A bit of fluff may happen between Ron and Hermione (maybe, I'm not sure), and then difficulties with Harry. ^_____~ hehe review pls!  
  
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Chapter 10  
  
Harry dragged Ron and Hermione (who volunteered) into Hogsmeade on the next trip. Well, he more like dragged Ron into Madame Jherika's Gift Shop and Hermione tagged along. (a/n: hehehe that makes no sense!!! That or it was just really confusing to me!!! ^_^)  
  
"Where are we going, Harry?" Hermione asked him, following behind Harry.  
  
"Madame Jherika's Gifts, Tips, and Tricks for Everyone.. Here it is." Harry said, turning to a store that was further away from all the others in Hogsmeade. It was a small shop, and it was one of those that looked as though it were a cheap, but good, place to shop.  
  
"OH!" Ron suddenly exclaimed. "Here. heh, uhh Hermione, are you sure you want to go in?"  
  
"Yes, Ron, of course I am," Hermione said, walking past them.  
  
"But, you'll spoil-"  
  
Hermione walked inside, and Ron finished. "-all of your Christmas presents."  
  
Harry laughed and shook his head at Ron, following Hermione into the store.  
  
He looked around at the many, may interesting objects that lined the walls and shelves. In the back, there was a door that obviously led to a back room and a desk, where there was a cash register. and what not.  
  
In the store there was almost any such gift for a loved one you could imagine. Jewelry, like necklaces, lockets, bracelets, rings, hair clips, and so on and so forth, coming in various different shapes and sizes. Harry even found one, thin-chained and golden, of a Snitch, there were also star crossers (that arranged the stars to make words), and many, many more things that Harry couldn't even imagine existed before he came to Madame Jherika's store.  
  
Suddenly, as Harry was looking at the jewelery part of the shop, (which was right near the desk) a woman voiced in his ear, "Hello, and welcome to Madame Jherika's Gifts, Tips, and Tricks for Everyone. How can I help you, young man?"  
  
Harry turned around and stared up at a woman who was obviously Madame Jherika. She was about as tall as Ron, with wide shoulders and a stout nose. A few strands of her straight brown hair fell from the high ponytail she had it in. Glasses with no rims to them went over her deep blue-ish eyes. She wore something like Professor Trelawney would. but Madame Jherika was much more attractive than she.  
  
"Uh, yeah, I'm looking for a gift for, for my girlfriend-"  
  
"Ooh, I see. Any ideas?" she interrupted.  
  
"Well, I was thinking, since she's the Ravenclaw Seeker-"  
  
"Oh! Cho Chang, yes yes yes, go on, go on." she interrupted again.  
  
"Well I was thinking that maybe I could get her something for her birthday coming up and then something for Christmas, because they're right next to each other. Something like a necklace with a Snitch on it, like that one," he pointed, "for her birthday, with her name etched into it, and something different for Christmas, but I don't know-"  
  
"Maybe you should write her a message with the Star Crosser and then give her, oh I have the perfect idea for you, young man. Give her one of our bracelets. We don't really give these out very often, or show them about, but for a friend of Cho's." she winked. "I think we can make an exception."  
  
She went into the back room and Harry, after grabbing a Star Crosser, stood at the desk, his arms leaning on it, and his front facing the shop. Ron and Hermione came up right behind him and waited.  
  
"So, what are you going to get her, mate?" Ron asked, leaning into the same position as Ron.  
  
"Well, I'm gonna get her the necklace, of course, and then Madame Jherika has gone in back to get one of those bracelet things. I don't know what they are, but I guess we'll soon see, eh?"  
  
Hermione and Ron both nodded, and just then, Madame Jherika returned, with a small box in her hands, which she offered to Harry. He took it and opened it, anxiously awaiting to see what it really was.  
  
Inside was an exquisite bracelet. It was silver and thick all the way around, with little amethyst broomsticks lining the sides and middle except for one clear spot. Harry wondered what that was for, so he asked.  
  
"Oh," Madame Jherika replied, smiling at him. "That's where hers and your name goes. Just a little something, you know, to remember you by." She winked, and Harry smiled. "Is that all?"  
  
"Yeah, this star crosser, and I dunno, me and Cho haven't been together that long, and I don't want anything to go any faster. this bracelet looks priceless, for God's sake."  
  
"Oh, it's not. Just a bit of magic. the broomsticks glow in the dark, mind you. I'd say you give this to her for Christmas, and then put up the Star Crosser later on at night. the necklace for her birthday. Do you concur, Ron?"  
  
Ron jumped, and he nodded, smiling at Madame Jherika. Possibly, they had made friends while Ron was out here shopping for Hermione.  
  
Ron and Hermione. Oh, how lucky they really were. They didn't have to try at being in love. it just happened from the start. Harry did, a bit, but he knew (and it's true.) that later on, he and Cho would end up just like those two.  
  
Harry payed Madame Jherika her money and walked away. She called out to him, "Come back anytime!" as he walked through the door with Ron and Hermione.  
  
As soon as they got out, Hermione said, "Oh, everything in there was so. beautiful! I loved everything!"  
  
Ron let out a silent, barely audible, "Phew," as he heard this, and then just smiled at her and wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked.  
  
"Hey, you want to go to the three broomsticks, catch a butterbeer before heading back? I'm freezing," Hermione said as Ron pulled her closer to him.  
  
"Sure," Harry said, and they walked through the door.  
  
Inside was nearly completely full. Harry spotted Cho and immediately hid the bag that contained her present behind his back. She was sitting with her friends that still liked her for being with Harry, and she was facing him. She spotted him and smiled, waving, and got up to talk to him.  
  
"Hey Harry!" she said, smiling.  
  
"Hi," he said, trying his best to make sure that Cho wouldn't see the gift behind his back.  
  
"What do you have there?" Cho asked. Complete failure on Harry's part.  
  
"Nothing," he immediately said.  
  
"C'mon, Harry, lemme see."  
  
"Nope. Not till the day before Christmas." He winked, and she smiled.  
  
"Aww, Harry, thanks, you remembered!!!!" Cho squealed.  
  
"Cho, how could I forget about you?" he kissed her forehead and they went to sit down after getting butterbeers for themselves.  
  
They managed three more spots at the table Cho had been sitting at. Some of her friends smiled warmly at Harry, and others just gave him a friendly look. He smiled back at everyone.  
  
So these were the only friends of Cho's that were real friends, and didn't care who she was going out with or dating. Harry now knew how deceiving half the population of Hogwarts was. Only six girls remained friends with Cho.  
  
Harry half-smiled at the thought, and then Cho got up to leave for the bathroom or something. One of the girls asked him a question.  
  
"Harry, why are you with Cho? You know, she feels like she doesn't deserve you. and she constantly talks about you now, I'll have you know. don't tell her I said this. Oh, and I suppose we could introduce ourselves. after you answer." She said. She had blonde curly hair and blue eyes, with freckles dotting her nose.  
  
"I'm with Cho because." he thought for a second. It was obvious. He loved her. He loved her. He loved her. "I'm with Cho because I love her."  
  
The girls around him squealed, you know, that annoying one that popular girls do when a guy says something sweet. Harry winced inside at the sound.  
  
"No wonder she likes you. You're such a sweetie. I'm Colissa Kensington," the blonde curly-haired girl from before said.  
  
"Kelly James," a black haired girl said, her chocolate-brown eyes, much like Hermione's, glowing with a friendly look.  
  
"Jenny O'Bryant," a redhead wearing thin glasses replied, giving him a warm smile.  
  
"Ashley Smith," spoke up the girl sitting next to him, her having brown, straight locks that fell past her shoulders.  
  
"My name's Sara James. and no, I'm not related to Kelly." A girl with blonde hair and a genuine smile said, giving a giggle.  
  
"And finally, my name's Maria Lopez," a Mexican-looking girl with black curls said in an accent you would usually hear from Mexican people. "We call ourselves the Sexy Seven, us and Cho." The six girls laughed at the thought, remembering the inside joke.  
  
Harry did so also. It was true. Each and every one of these girls were very pretty. but Cho was by far the most gorgeous of the lot. Kelly James spoke up, "Harry, who are your friends?"  
  
Harry jumped a bit. He had almost forgotten Ron and Hermione were even there.  
  
"I'm Ron Weasley, and this is Hermione Granger," Ron replied, his arm around her.  
  
"Oh, are you two dating? You're so cute together!" Kelly James squealed, and the rest of the girls made a mutual agreement that they were. Ron and Hermione both blushed.  
  
A pause, and then-  
  
"Harry," Ashley Smith said in a whisper. "Thanks for getting with Cho. Before she was with you, she was never, ever happy, and always depressed. mostly last year, you know, after Cedric died."  
  
Harry didn't really know what to say. Cho's closest and real friends were thanking him for dating her, and that's not something you'd hear every day. So Harry just nodded.  
  
Just then, Cho came back.  
  
"You guys aren't scaring away Harry, are you? Cho asked her friends with a frown. Harry laughed.  
  
"No," he said. "They weren't. Just introducing themselves and what not." Harry smiled up at Cho. She gave him a smile back and took her seat.  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione gulped down their butterbeer. It was getting late, and after a long conversation with the 'Sexy Seven,' they made an agreement that it was time to go.  
  
"We'd better get back now, you two," Harry said to Ron and Hermione. "We've still got Potions work to finish."  
  
"Yeah. It's been absolutely great talking to you lot, and I know we'll see you around," Hermione said to the seventh years, who all nodded and grinned, sipping on butterbeer.  
  
"Bye now!"  
  
"See you!"  
  
"Later, Harry, Ron, Hermione," were the kind of replies they got as they left.  
  
And then they left the Three Broomsticks.  
  
As they walked up to Hogwarts, Harry was in a great mood. Spending time with Cho was the best he could spend time- along with Quidditch, of course. He grinned as they made it in the oak front doors and the snow battered his face. He knew that Christmas would be a fun time.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
HEY!!! What'd you all think of that chappie? I liked it. lol. Actually, it was quite boring, really, but oh well. Next chapter-Harry/Cho fluff. Major. ^______~ Christmas always involves fluff, of course!!  
  
See you all later. Please review!!  
  
~ Aubyn Lin ~ 


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N**: Hi everybody! It's me again. ^_^ And so far, I have a few reviews! I'm sorry it's taken forever to type this up… I've been going through a stressful time, for a lack of better phrase. Ice Cream to my reviewers!!! Sorry it's taking so long to type. Writer's block has hit me head on. But hey, at least I've figured out how to do Italics and bold and everything now, huh? ^__- Merry Christmas to my fellow Christians! ^________^

**Hippyman69**- Naw, he isn't. I really don't want him to, either. Because then, I would have to change the rating and not everyone would be able to see it and read it. So, no matter what you say, I'm not going to do that, even though it would give the plot a twist…. Nah. I think I'll stick to fluff. ^__________^ Yeah, I know, I'm not exactly great at fluff. You see, I'm a lot better at mystery, and fantasy, and what not. Not fluff. All my friends are though. I dunno what's up with that. -__-; Anyway, I would like to check out your fanfics. Might be fun. So if you e-mail me the link, I will. ^______________^ And alright, alright already I'm posting I'm posting…

**Herculeha**- Were you signed in when you reviewed? I didn't get it if you weren't. hehe, anyway, this chapter is Cho's birthday/Christmas. MAJOR FLUFFINESS!!!!!!!!!!!! Beware. ^__~ Oh, I didn't mean to add that bit of fluffiness into this chapter between Ron and Hermione. Gah. Accidental. Oh well, this will be mostly Harry/Cho, but also Ron/Hermione at the Burrow…. Hehehe Yeah well even though I was grounded I'm on the computer anyway. -__-;  I'm not in too much trouble. Don't worry. And this is a long reply to a long review so I'll just shut up and type!

**Bon**- Yeah. My sister gave me the idea… her and six of her friends call themselves that. LOL. If it's not very major fluffiness, I'm really sorry, but I'm trying to portray that relationship through that… ^_^

**I Love Cho**- ok ok!!! I'm typing, I'm typing! ^_^;;;

**Indigal**- thanks, it was fun to write last chapter… even though I've forgotten all their names already!!! lol I know, I know, this chapter is major fluffage!!! That doesn't make sense, but let's just say that there's a lot of Harry/Cho fluff (finally) and a bit of Ron/Hermione… describes both of their Christmases. 

**Dragon Knight-** Thanks so much for your review! I've finally posted! You should be proud. Hehehe Thanks for reading!

**Disclaimer**: All of the Harry Potter characters belong to JK Rowling… you know, the rich and famous blonde-haired woman who lives in Britain? Yeah. Her. She owns it all. T_____T

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Chapter 11

Harry got out of his bed at precisely 5:35:03 on Christmas Eve Day very excited and extremely nervous. Many thoughts ran through his mind, negative ones, like, _What if Cho doesn't like my presents? _and _What if she dumps me?_

He bit his lip and got dressed, feeling more nervous than excited now. Thoughts he knew he shouldn't think and be negative about were running through his brain like it was a marathon. He was getting a headache from it, too.

He took a drink of water once he finished putting on his shoes and went down into the common room to relax, or try to, until it was time for breakfast.

The common room, of course, was empty. Only Harry and a few third and seventh years had stayed for Christmas… Ron and Hermione stayed at the Burrow so they could get a bit of alone time. It's not like they didn't have any at Hogwarts. Maybe they just wanted to get away from Harry. "That must be it," he said aloud at the thought.

He sat down and grabbed a piece of parchment that was rolled up, oddly very conveniently, in front of him and sitting on the table with a quill. It was completely empty and never used. The quill was eagle-feathered and there was a bottle of ink lying around somewhere nearby. It was as if someone had perfectly set it up for him.

So he decided to write a letter to his Cho.

_Happy birthday, beautiful. At ten o'clock tonight, meet me in the Enterance Hall. I'll be waiting for you!_

_Yours Truly,_

_Harry_

"There," Harry said aloud. "That sounds good."

He grabbed it and wrapped it up, going back up to his dormitory to give the letter to Hedwig. 

"To Cho Chang, of Ravenclaw," he said, petting her pure-white feathers. She seemed to understand perfectly, because she gave a hoot and flew off into the rising sun and he watched her soar, until he snapped out of a trance as Hedwig was suddenly flying back.

_Hey Harry! I'm so glad you remembered my birthday!!! Some guys don't. Anyway, I'll be there, don't worry!_

_You know you love me,_

_Cho_

He smiled and set the letter down, thinking that he had to figure out how this date would be planned. 

Nervousness rushed through his blood. This had to be perfect. Perfect, perfect_, perfect_. If it wasn't perfect, if everything he did for her she hated… he would be, for lack of better phrase, a nervous wreck. Heh. Like he wasn't already.

_"UGH!"_ Harry said, fed up after about ten minutes of worrying. "How am I going to get all of this sorted out if I don't calm down?!"

"An excellent question, Harry," a familiar voice behind him sounded. Harry jumped and turned.

"Oh, hello, Godric. Got an update or something?" Harry said, immediately calmed by Godric's ghostly presence.

"Yes, Harry. I do have an 'update' for you today. And it is about the Dark Lord."

Harry nodded and turned back round as Godric came to float before him. 

"Harry, this is very, very important. The Dark Lord has been getting even more powerful than ever before. Somehow, he has managed to tap into ancient magic… with every person he kills, he gets one eighth of all their humane and/or magical strength. This magic was even before my time, before Hogwarts… and it's also one of the most difficult to master. I don't think he knows the other power that is conjoined with it… the downside, for him, that is."

Harry listened very carefully. "The downside?" He asked, a frown forming on his lips.

"Yes. With this magic, even though the Dark Lord gets stronger with each person he murders, if his wand ever broke, all of the power would be plotted and placed into the person who snaps the wand."

"Which would have to be me, right?" Harry asked, half-frowning.__

"I'm afraid so. But you must do this at a certain point in time. In _precisely_ six months and fourteen days, you must go to Voldemort and snap his wand, ultimately renewing yourself. Then you will have enough strength to save the entire wizarding world, because then is when you must defeat Voldemort."

Harry listened intently and shut his eyes. It didn't really seem that hard… but using the Killing Curse would be. Harry had only once used an Unforgivable Curse, and it was against Bellatrix Lestrange… it also didn't work very well. Not very well at all. She got up by her own will, and she looked nonpulsed… Harry didn't really know how he was going to be able to pull off the worst of the worst, Avada Kedavra against the worst of the worst. Lord Voldemort himself…

Harry sighed as he opened his eyes, but he found that he was staring into an empty common room. Godric had left.

_Great. _Harry thought. _How am I to get Voldemort's wand and snap it, at that? That will be extremely difficult. I can't just walk up to him and ask, "Hey Voldie, can I have your wand for a sec? I'd like to snap it so that I can be more powerful than you and ultimately defeat you in the end. Thanks." As if I don't have enough to worry about right now. Cho, all my friends, Ron and Hermione being together, and just to top it all off, the fate of the whole wizarding world is resting on my shoulders! This is fantastic._

Harry sighed, knowing that he would be very confused and twisted up in his own thoughts for nearly the rest of the day.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Ron awoke in his brilliant orange room and grinned. Christmas Eve day had fallen upon the Burrow, and everyone was going to be in that happy, cheerful, holiday spirit that they always were in when he was just a kid. The spirit of giving had spread over everyone, and hopefully everyone was going to be nice. Hopefully Ron wasn't going to be the butt of Fred and George's annual Christmas Eve prank. 

Ron hopped out of bed and got dressed in ordinary old worn-out gray robes. He remembered them being black when Percy first got them, when he was fifteen and prefect. Ron sighed. He hated hand-me-downs. Especially the ones that were years old, gray and torn from his older brothers wearing them out. Ugh. He hated being poor.

Alas, nothing could spoil his mood. Sliding down the last stairwell after combing his hair through with a simple black brush, he nearly collided with Hermione as he did a tuck flip after falling off the edge of the stair handlebar. He stood and popped up behind her, giving her one of his genuine smiles after surprisingly and annoyingly cheerfully saying, "Good morning, Hermione!"

She smiled and replied, laughing, "You're awfully bouncy and cheerful this morning."

"I know." Ron replied, bouncing into the kitchen. 

Hermione followed. "Any specific reason?" she asked through a giggle.

"Nope." Ron said simply, sitting down next to George at the table. Hermione sat across from him next to Fred and they both started to eat a hearty meal of pancakes and sausage. Ron's favorite. 

"Good morning dears," Mrs. Weasley said (more commonly known as "mum" around the house these days), greeting Ron and Hermione with cheer.

"Morning mum!" Ron replied cheerfully.

"My, aren't you a bright little ray of sunshine this morning, Ron." Fred said grumpily, nearly falling asleep in his sausage.

Hermione giggled and Ron just shrugged, digging into his hearty breakfast.              

"Look!" Ginny said suddenly after a short pause, pointing out the window. "It's Erroll with the Post."

And so it was, the old and retired family bird Erroll came flying down towards the open window. As if it was a re-make of the second movie, Erroll smashed right into the closed half of the window, falling down onto the snow-less ground. Ginny slapped her forehead and Hermione rolled her eyes. "Will you get that, Ron?" Mrs. Weasley asked him. As he got up, she heard her muttering, "That owl is getting too old. I do wish prices would go down on those things, so we can get a nice, new one…"

Mr. Weasley frowned at his wife and merely replied, "One day things will get better, trust me." And with a disappointed smile between the two, the conversation was ended.

"It's from the Ministry, dad. And Mum, you've got one too." Ron said, looking at the two letters with intense curiosity as he handed them over.

"I wonder why I have one," Mrs. Weasley asked herself more than anyone else in the room. Everyone shrugged at the rhetorical question.

"Why don't you kids run along for a moment." Mr. Weasley said, his face paling by the second. Ron and Hermione exchanged worried looks but rounded everyone up and ran up the steps.

Soon they got into Ron's bedroom, (Ginny, Ron, and Hermione) and they each sat down on either the bed or the floor or the nearly-broken chair in the corner. Each looked terribly worried.

"I wonder what it could be," said Ginny, nervously tapping the arm of the chair.

"No idea, but it must be something important, good or bad, because Mum got one too." Ron said, biting his lower lip.

"Don't worry, you two. Everything will be just fine, just you wait and see." Hermione said soothingly, getting up off the floor and sitting on the bed next to Ron. She leaned on his shoulder and put her amrs around him.

"I'm just worried, you know? You can never know what it is going to be…" 

Suddenly, Mr. Weasley's voice rang up the stairwell. "KIDS! Come on down here, please!"

Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all raced out the door, nearly knocking Fred and George over on the way. They all ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. Once everyone was settled down and seated, Mr. Weasley began to talk.

"I have some good news, and some bad news." He began. "Which would you like first?"

"Good news." A mutual agreement was made between everyone.

Mr. Weasley smiled. "Always looking on the bright side of things, you lot. The good news is, I've gotten a raise! A raise by 55%!" 

Hermione's jaw dropped. Everyone else looked confused, having never learned basic percentages in Muggle Math, but they all cheered. 

"That's fantastic, Dad!"

"This is awesome!"

"I might get some new robes for school!"

Everyone started saying at once. "This is great! But, Mum, why don't you look too happy?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, what's the bad news?" Fred asked, his normally smiling face a concerned frown.

Mrs. Weasley paused and a tear streaked her cheek. "The Department of Magical Buildings and Homes has put a foreclosure on our house. We're going to lose the house."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ten o'clock rolled around very slowly for Harry Potter. Flying had failed to calm his nerves and sleep didn't work for him. He sighed, staring into the fireplace in the Common Room. He then went into the corner and slipped on his invisibility cloak, and pushed open the Portrait, not caring if anyone saw the Portrait hole move or not. He carefully made his way to the Entrance Hall, making sure he didn't run into any teachers or staff.

Soon he reached the Entrance Hall and hid in a darkened corner, forgetting he was invisible, as Snape hurried through the hallway and stomping out unto the Grounds, muttering something Harry couldn't hear. He decided it wasn't worth investigating, so he slipped his head out of his invisibility cloak and stepped out of the shadowy corner. 

Just as he did, the beautiful face of Cho Chang appeared around the corner from the direction of where the Ravenclaw common room resides. Harry put the  "hood" of his Invisibility Cloak up and decided he should tickle her, just for laughs. He hadn't seen her all day, and he missed her beautiful chocolate eyes and her ravishing smile. He missed her pretty laugh and her irresistible aroma. He reached her and whispered, "Cho…" 

She jumped and looked around, confused.

"Choooo…." He said again, this time laughing. He reached her sides with his hands and tickled her, until she almost yelled, "MERCY! Harry! I give!!!" She was still laughing her pretty laugh when he let go. A grin was planted on her face and her eyes twinkled.

He slipped off his invisibility cloak and she jumped into a hug. He spun her around once and said, "I missed you today."

"I missed you too," she whispered, giving him a peck on the cheek. He smiled and returned the favor on her incomprehensibly soft lips, wrapping the Invisibility Cloak around them.

"Happy birthday," He said, slipping his arm around her waist. 

"You don't know how sick I am of hearing that," Cho said with a laugh, her smile still planted on her face.

"Ok. Merry Christmas." Cho rolled her eyes and grinned, showing her perfectly white and straight teeth. He smiled as well, not only because of his little joke but because of her contagious smile. Whenever Cho smiled, everyone soon did. It was irresistible.

"Very funny. So where are we going?" She questioned. It was Harry's turn to grin.

"You'll see." He replied simply, leaving Cho on the edge of suspense.

"I'm so happy for today." She said as soon as they walked out the door.

"Why?" Harry asked curiously, a look of wonderment in his eyes.

"Because…" Cho paused. "Because I've lived another year. It's because I know I still have the day and tomorrow yet to come, and I still have my friends and my family. It's because I am still alive, and I have not a single reason to be shamed or unhappy. It's because I haven't let anybody down or hurt anybody. It's because I can live and not be punished by the past or tortured by what may come in the future." She stared straight ahead.

"I'm so happy for today." Harry said after a pause.

"Why?" Cho asked.

"Because I have my friends and another day to come, because I have lived to see another day. It's because I have you. You're the apple of my eye, to say. My life would probably be a living hell if I didn't have you, and before I did, it was. It was horrible trying to live the life that I did, whether I admitted it or not, because whether I like it or not, I have the whole fate of the Wizarding World resting on my shoulders, and there's nothing I can do to change that. But now that I have you, I cannot complain about anything that may go wrong, because all I have to do is remember you, and me, and this…" he kissed her lips. "and I will have peace of mind."

"Wow…" Cho whispered, and a tear drove down her cheek. 

"Don't cry, Cho." Harry said, wiping away the tear. 

"I'm sorry, it's just that… nobody's ever said that to me before." Cho replied. "I feel so… loved."

"You are." Harry grinned. "And don't ever doubt it."

Cho nodded. After a moment's silence, Harry broke the ice.

"I had a dream about you last night."

"Really? Was it a good one or a bad one?" She asked, looking around at him.

"It was good. Would you like to know?" Harry questioned, and she nodded in response.

"It started off as just me, in a pitch black emptiness. Nothing but darkness surrounded me, and I couldn't move. I couldn't fight it, and all I could do was sit there in the dark. But then, across the way, a light appeared. And suddenly, you appeared, these beautiful features of you that only belong to you. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and in the darkness, it was all I had besides myself. I could move, and I moved toward you, and as soon as I did, my world began to fill with color. And then I reached you, touched you, kissed you, and when I did, the pitch darkness became light and the light became color, and my world was bright, for the very first time in my life."

Cho listened intently and just replied with a simple, "Wow…" as they walked on the new fallen snow. The invisibility cloak was resting on his arm. He didn't remember when he took it off of them.

"It's true. You are the light of my life, and I am grateful. Which is why I got you this, for your birthday."

He handed her a blue box, in which resided the Golden Snitch necklace with her name engraved on it. "Harry, you shouldn't have!" She said happily, slowly opening the box and looking inside. She gasped and took out the genuine necklace and gave Harry a big hug. He smiled and took it from her.

"Let me put it on you."

Cho nodded and moved her long, soft black hair and he clipped the necklace together. He turned around and she let down her hair, looking at him. It was a perfect fit, as if it were designed to be on her and her alone. He grinned and she played with it, twirling her finger around it and moving the Charm snitch up and down the golden chain.

"I love it, thank you so much!" she gave him another hug and he grinned. Obviously, he had chosen something good for Cho, and she had liked it.

They stopped at the Lake, where they sat down and suddenly a birthday cake and two lit candles appeared, along with plates and forks and knives. Cho jumped and Harry just sat up, cutting the cake for a piece for him and a piece for her. 

He broke out into song, singing softly in French.

"Bon anniversaire to tu

Bon anniversaire to tu

Bon anniversaire chere Cho

Bon anniversaire to tu!"

(Note: I don't know French. So if I did that wrong, I'm SORRY, ok, I'm not that talented to know so much French. Really. I'm sticking my leg out on that one, I really do not know French… so if anyone wishes to correct me, feel free… lol)

Cho's grin was plastered onto her face, practically permanently. "I didn't know you knew French."

"Neither did I." Harry said, stunned at himself. It just kind of came out, the song. Cho giggled.        

"You have an excellent voice you know." She said. 

Harry just shrugged. "I've always had it and never knew it, I guess."

A pause as they each bit into their cake and looked up at the sky.

"Tonight's a great night for flying… don't you think?" Cho asked, looking up at the clear, starry sky.

"It sure is… that's the next part, though."

"There's another part? This was enough for me!" Cho was slightly shocked.

"Enough is never enough, chere mademoiselle. C'mon, let's go." Both finished and stood up. The candles, plates, forks, knives, and the cake all disappeared. They started to walk, hand in hand, to the Quidditch Pitch, and soon arrived.

Harry summoned his Firebolt and it came zooming out the window of Gryffindor Tower directly into his awaiting hands. Cho gasped. "An excellent Summoning Charm! I remember from two years ago…" Cho sighed.

"Don't worry about it Cho. Everything is ok, and we shouldn't let the past haunt us. A wise man once said to me that it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."

Cho nodded and half-smiled. For once, the permanently planted grin disappeared and it was replaced with nothing more than a mere half-smile. He did the same and wrapped his arm around her. She wiped her eyes. 

"Well, how about we go for a ride?" He said, mounting his Firebolt. He let her get on in front of him so that they could both enjoy the view.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ron and Hermione were both outside after hearing the terrible news. It was very much night time now, but they didn't care. The grassy ground below them was hard and cold as they sat on it in silence.

"I just can't believe this. Foreclosure! It's like Mum and Dad didn't play the bills, and I know they did, because I watched them pay them!"

"Ron, it's okay, please, everything's going to be just fine."

Ron nodded as if he understood, but he didn't. He didn't understand how this could've happened. They have lived there, barely paying their bills, since Bill was born at least 25 years ago. Not to mention Dad grew up in this house, on this land. And now they had to move, move to someplace dreary with no memories and neighbors around every corner and not a single place to just fly around or be their magical selves. A tear threatened to run down his cheek until he wiped it away furiously. He didn't need crying in front of Hermione as well, making him seem insecure and stupid. 

Hermione lay her head on his chest, and they both laid on the cold ground. Ron just played with Hermione's hair and tears fell down his cheek. He didn't want to wipe them away, because as soon as he would, he would feel more hot tears welling up.

Suddenly, whiteness appeared all around them. Hermione gasped and sat straight up. Ron wiped his eyes quickly and sat up as well.

"Ron! It's snowing!" A grin sat plastered onto her face. Sooner than later the snow picked up pace, and there was quickly at the very least an inch of snow on the ground. Hermione's hair was skattered with white bits of snow. She looked so beautiful, like the angel she truly was. Ron put his hand up to her face and brushed his hand across her cheek, and she shivered, not only from the snow but the feel of his touch. She grinned and leaned towards him. They shared a kiss, and Ron thought that all was right in the world at that very moment. He forgot about the foreclosure and about his Father's raise. All he could see was Hermione. Hermione. Hermione…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After a long time of flying, they finally sat to rest on the stands of the Quidditch Pitch.

"This has been incredibly fun, Harry." Cho said, sitting closely next to him.

"There's more," Harry said.

"More?" Cho asked.

Harry nodded and picked up the star crosser. It looked like a quill, and he wrote something in the sky. As soon as he picked his Star Crosser up, the stars all around jumped in to make those words. Cho looked up and gasped, amazed.

"_I love thee, Cho Chang"_ the stars read. Harry smiled and held out the final box of his present. She took it and kissed him slightly hard on the lips. 

"I love you too, Harry." She said, and opened the box.

She gasped at what was inside. She took out the bracelet and set the box aside, holding it up. As soon as she touched it he touched the end of it, and their names were suddenly being traced onto the blank part of the priceless-looking bracelet. She put it on her wrist and stared at it, entranced.

"I love you, Harry Potter," she said as she hugged him.

"I love you too, Cho Chang. Happy birthday, and Merry Christmas." Harry replied, and they kissed. Fireworks exploded, the kind that have been building up and building up all night and were finally released. Cho was all he could think about. They continued the kiss and the fireworks exploded into the night sky, brightening up the darkness all around them.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

wow! Finally! DONE!!! You all should be very proud of me, I've finally finished! You know it's 9:00 precisely on Christmas eve? Merry Christmas to all of you, tomorrow! Please R/R!!!!

Love, Aubyn Lin xox


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